ORLANDO, Fla. — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is planning to make the Orlando area his home base for at least several more weeks while the U.S. government processes his visa request and tensions remain high in his home country, his immigration lawyer said Wednesday.
But he’s moved on from his place near Kissimmee to an undisclosed location, said Felipe Alexandre, an attorney with the AG Immigration law firm. As of late, the far-right Brazilian leader, who has been living in Central Florida for about three months, has been getting attention from American conservative groups.
He’s scheduled to speak Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. Former President Donald Trump will be the keynote speaker later that night.
Bolsonaro, has been likened to a “Trump of the tropics” because of his style of governance. Like Trump, he refused to concede defeat in his reelection bid. On Jan. 8, Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed government buildings in scenes reminiscent of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Alexandre said he doesn’t expect Bolsonaro will return to Brazil “any time soon” with his political rival leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in charge of the country.
“He is using this time to kind of relax and recoup his energy and see what his next step in life is going to be,” Alexandre said. “He’s been involved in community events. He has been trying to get some positive vibes from the people here who support him. He has overwhelming support here in Florida.”
Lula’s administration is considering options to force Bolsonaro to return to the country if he doesn’t voluntarily come back by the end of March, Bloomberg reported. Bolsonaro is facing multiple investigations into matters that occurred during his term in office and whether he played a role in inciting the riots.
Bolsonaro arrived in Orlando on Dec. 30, two days before his successor was sworn into office. He stayed in a rental home at the Reunion West resort community near Disney World. The home is reportedly owned by Jose Aldo, a retired UFC fighter.
It became a rallying spot for Bolsonaro’s supporters, who greeted the former president outside the home.
Bolsonaro has been spotted around town eating at a KFC restaurant and wandering through a Publix supermarket.
In early February, Bolsonaro spoke at a conservative Turning Point USA event at Trump’s hotel in Doral near Miami. The crowd chanted “fraud,” and Bolsonaro reassured them about the country’s future, The Associated Press reported.
“I believe in Brazil, and I am certain that Brazil will not end with the current government,” Bolsonaro said.
He also addressed several hundred supporters at an evangelical church in Boca Raton, the Palm Beach Post reported.
Bolsonaro arrived in the United States on a diplomatic visa and filed paperwork on Jan. 27 to convert that visa to a six-month tourist visa, Alexandre said. He can remain in the United States while the visa request is pending, a process that can take several months, the lawyer said.
“He’s just under a lot of stress right now,” Alexandre said. “I don’t think he has plans to go back to Brazil any time soon, like in the next few weeks. He wants to go back. That’s where he wants to be. He wants to be in Brazil. The environment there is probably not the best for him right now.”
Forty-one Democratic members of the U.S. Congress have signed a letter calling for Bolsonaro to be kicked out of the country. The list of signatures includes Florida Reps. Maxwell Frost, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Lois Frankel and Jared Moskowitz.
“The United States must not provide shelter for him, or any authoritarian who has inspired such violence against democratic institutions,” the lawmakers wrote.
Bolsonaro is entitled to the same due process protections as any other foreign national who entered the country lawfully, Alexandre said.
“The United States is a country where the laws are supposed to work, and the laws are supposed to be applied evenly regardless of somebody’s background,” he said.
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