According to a social media statement by his Liberal Party, former far-right president of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro will return home by the end of the month, capping a protracted stay in the United States.
Following his electoral defeat to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was inaugurated in January, Bolsonaro spent more than three months in the US, the Liberal Party announced on Friday that he would fly back to the nation’s capital of Brasilia.
“Valdemar Costa Neto, our nation’s president, has officially announced to everyone that Jair Bolsonaro will return to Brazil on March 30. At 7:30 AM (11:30 GMT), Bolsonaro will land in Brasilia, the Liberal Party announced on social media.
In Brazil, where he has been charged with undermining democracy and inciting his supporters to start an initiative to overturn his loss to Lula, which culminated in a riot on January 8, Bolsonaro’s self-imposed exile has been the topic of speculation. On that day, Bolsonaro’s followers stormed three significant Brasilian government structures and demanded a coup.
Bolsonaro has remained in the US despite making several references to returning to Brazil while being under investigation for his alleged part in inciting the violence.
Earlier this month, Bolsonaro’s son Flavio wrote in a social media post that his father would return to Brazil by March 15, but he swiftly deleted the message, explaining that the date was “likely but still unconfirmed”.
Following a trip to Saudi Arabia in 2021, the former leader is also the focus of a police investigation into claims that members of his administration tried to smuggle millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry into the country without declaring it.
A Bolsonaro spokesman claimed on Friday that the former president had delivered the jewelry to a state bank at the direction of a watchdog organization.
Investigating whether Bolsonaro attempted to acquire the jewelry without paying taxes on it and whether the Saudi Arabian gift should have been added to the public presidential collection are federal police and prosecutors.
The authority announced on Wednesday that Bolsonaro had five days to hand over the jewelry.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly rejected any wrongdoing and claimed that he was being “crucified” for accepting a gift he never asked for.
