Brazil's Supreme Court Orders Bolsonaro to Surrender Passports

Flávio Bolsonaro’s deadline to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports expired at noon Tuesday, but it remained unclear whether he had complied with the order issued by Brazil’s Supreme Court. The sealed order was issued Sunday and served Monday, placing the defeated presidential candidate under direct pressure from the state’s judicial apparatus as he continued to challenge the election result.

Bolsonaro, 45, said he received the order outside the home where his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is under house arrest, serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup following his 2022 election loss to Lula. Flávio Bolsonaro’s whereabouts were unclear Tuesday. A spokesperson did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment, and it was also unclear whether he had handed over either passport.

The Court’s Order, the Candidate’s Response

Flávio Bolsonaro has refused to concede defeat and made unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud. He first asked for the results to be annulled after chaos at some polling places led authorities to extend voting by two hours. On Monday, he urged the electoral court to investigate alleged fraud and nullify the candidacies of Lula and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin.

The court has never taken that step before. To overturn the result, Bolsonaro would have to present evidence of fraud affecting Lula’s 4.4 million-vote margin and persuade the eight-member electoral court before results are certified on Dec. 18. That is the institutional route he is pursuing: a challenge through the same electoral system whose outcome he rejects.

Lula received more than 64 million votes, compared with fewer than 60 million for Bolsonaro, a margin of nearly 4%. Lula turned 81 on Tuesday. The numbers are central to the challenge Bolsonaro would have to make; the article reports no evidence supporting his fraud allegations.

In a video posted Monday on his social media channels, Bolsonaro said he had no plans to leave Brazil. Instead, he said he was trying to organize opposition among his congressional colleagues to the election results. His eight-year term as a senator expires Jan. 31, 2027, when he will also lose special jurisdiction at Brazil’s Supreme Court.

Power, Passports and Pending Cases

The passport order arrives as Bolsonaro faces two investigations by Brazil’s Supreme Court, alleging corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. In one case, he is accused of using a sports betting company to launder fraudulent deductions from government pensions to senior citizens. In the other, he is accused of accepting millions of dollars from a disgraced banker. Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing in both cases.

Prosecutors suspect the banker’s funds paid expenses for Bolsonaro’s brother Eduardo Bolsonaro and promoted Flávio Bolsonaro’s political agenda with the Trump administration, documents show. Those are allegations, not findings reported in the article.

Bolsonaro’s public whereabouts remained uncertain. Brazilians had earlier asked on social media where he was, while reporters gathered outside his home in Brasilia, the capital, without seeing him. A spokesperson for Argentina’s Ministry of Security denied reports that the senator had entered the country. Brazilian media outlets reported that many of his allies had been unable to reach him.

Paulo Figueiredo, a close ally of Bolsonaro who lives in the United States, was asked about the senator’s whereabouts and did not answer directly. “At this moment — following months of intense work that were unfairly thwarted — I have no desire to speak with the press. I kindly ask that you do not persist. Should I have a statement to make on any matter, I will reach out,” Figueiredo said. The order remains in force in the account; whether Bolsonaro surrendered the passports was still unknown.