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Bolsonaro at an event in Florida: "We will win together"
Photo: Joe Skipper / REUTERS
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro says he wants to "remain active in Brazilian politics".
Many people are "still shocked by what happened in the elections," Bolsonaro said at an event organized by the conservative exile organization Yes Brazil USA on Tuesday in Orlando, Florida.
"But we will defy this moment and, God willing, we will win together," the right-wing politician continued.
The voted-out Bolsonaro flew to Florida at the end of December and has been there ever since.
He has since applied for a six-month tourist visa, having entered the country on a diplomatic visa, which expired on Tuesday.
Bolsonaro's lawyer said the ex-president wanted to "take some time off, clear his head and enjoy being a tourist in the US for a few months".
Riots in Brasília – Supreme Court investigates Bolsonaro
By leaving for the United States, Bolsonaro broke the traditional practice of attending the swearing-in ceremony of his successor, Inácio Lula da Silva, and handing him the presidential sash.
Even before his narrow election defeat by left-wing politician Lula, Bolsonaro had repeatedly expressed doubts about the correct course of the election.
He did not provide any evidence for the allegations.
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A week after Lula was sworn in, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed the government district in the capital Brasília on January 8, causing severe destruction in the presidential palace, the congress building and the seat of the Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, Bolsonaro again questioned his election defeat, calling himself "more popular than ever."
However, he regrets "what some unsteady people" did on January 8th.
The ex-president is being investigated in connection with the riots in Brasília.
The Supreme Court wants to investigate whether Bolsonaro instigated the protests, which he has so far denied.
US politicians recently asked President Joe Biden to withdraw his visa from Bolsonaro because of the riots in Brasília.
slu/AFP
