BRASILIA — Federal Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, politically isolated after the Bolsonaro camp refused to concede defeat, had his passports canceled on Tuesday as questions mounted over his whereabouts.
The 45-year-old senator faces the loss of his parliamentary immunity following incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s election victory on Sunday. While his party and allies accepted the outcome, Bolsonaro has continued to challenge the results through legal channels.
In a social media video on Monday afternoon, Bolsonaro said he had been barred from leaving Brazil and ordered to surrender his travel documents. Although he pledged to comply, he had not done so by Tuesday afternoon.
“Flavio Bolsonaro’s passports have been canceled,” a police source told AFP on condition of anonymity. “There is no formal record of Flavio Bolsonaro leaving the country.”
Argentina’s security ministry and migration authorities denied local media reports that the senator had entered the neighboring country.
Bolsonaro said the passport order stemmed from remarks by his brother Eduardo, who lives in the United States and told a podcast two days before the election that he supported his brother leaving the country if he lost.
The senator is under investigation in multiple cases, including a corruption probe into the financing of the biopic “Dark Horse” about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest for allegedly plotting a coup.
“I never had any intention of leaving the country,” Flavio Bolsonaro said. “I will surrender my passports and defend myself against this travesty.”
Members of Bolsonaro’s inner circle did not respond to AFP requests for comment on his movements Tuesday. AFP observed a motorcade leaving his Brasilia residence but could not determine whether the senator was inside any of the vehicles.
President Lula, who turned 81 on Tuesday, staged a dramatic comeback after losing the first-round vote to Bolsonaro’s father. A revitalized campaign and broad mobilization from the left delivered roughly 4.4 million more votes than his rival.
Jair Bolsonaro refused to accept the result, citing extended voting hours and accusing Lula of abusing his powers through a series of social spending announcements during the campaign. World leaders across the political spectrum congratulated Lula, while U.S. President Donald Trump, an ally of the Bolsonaro family, told reporters in Washington that the election “looked terrible” and “so corrupt.”
Following the bitter election race, Supreme Court Justice Flavio Dino ordered police on Tuesday to investigate alleged foreign funding of Bolsonaro’s campaign and other overseas interference, including social media “manipulation.” The probe will examine “the possible origin, circulation and destination of foreign resources,” as well as “deliberate asymmetries and algorithmic manipulation by Internet companies aimed at favoring or harming candidacies.”
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