Bolsonaro to return to Brazil for 1st time since losing election

BRASILIA: Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will return to the country on Thursday after he left for the US following his defeat in the presidential election last year.

Bolsonaro, who narrowly lost the October 2022 election to his left-wing rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, travelled to Florida in December after applying for a six-month US tourist visa, the BBC reported.

The far-right politician's return is also for the first time since his supporters stormed the Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace on January 8, which came weeks after weeks after protests claiming fraud in his defeat to Lula.

Speaking at an airport in Florida before boarding a flight on Wednesday, he said he would not lead the opposition to Lula.

After arriving in the terminal in Orlando, he spoke and took pictures with throngs of supporters.

Bolsonaro, who is scheduled to land in Brasilia early Thursday, faces numerous legal challenges on his return, including an investigation into whether he incited rioters who stormed key government buildings a week after Lula's inauguration, reports the BBC.

He has voiced "regret" for the unrest but denies he caused it.

However, Brazil's Supreme Court has agreed to include him in its investigation into the riot.