After the attacks in Brasilia, US congressmen demanded the expulsion of Jair Bolsonaro

US congressmen asked this Sunday that Florida not shelter former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, after his supporters attacked the federal government headquarters in Brasilia, an episode that was compared to the assault on the capitol two years ago by supporters of the also defeated Donald Trump.

Legislators from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party expressed themselves on Twitter in rejection of Bolsonaro’s presence on US soil.

“The United States must stop granting refuge to Bolsonaro in Florida”, said the representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in a message in which she expressed her solidarity with Lula da Silva and described the attackers as part of “fascist movements”.

In turn, Joaquin Castro, also from the ruling party, wrote: “Bolsonaro must not be given refuge in Florida, where he has been hiding from responsibility for his crimes.”. Bolsonaro is the target of investigations, but has not yet been formally accused by the Brazilian Justice.

“The anti-democratic violence in Brazil today is a sobering reminder of the dangerous fascist movements growing around the world. Jair Bolsonaro should not receive refuge in the US”, Congressman Mark Takano wrote for his part, while his colleague Ilhan Omar noted: “Democracies around the world must stand together to condemn this attack on democracy. Bolsonaro should not have refuge in Florida”.

For her part, Anna Eskamani, a Florida state representative, directly questioned the Republican governor Ron DeSantiswho did not condemn the attack on the US Congress: “Why are you giving refuge to Jair Bolsonaro in Florida? Is it because you support far-right fascist regimes invading capitols?”.

Bolsonaro traveled to Florida at the end of December before completing his term in Brazil, breaking democratic tradition by not handing over the presidential sash to Lula da Silva on January 1. He settled in Orlando without a public agenda or further statements.

With no prosecution underway, the cumbersome path of a extradition It does not appear in the short or medium term. A faster process would be the expulsion of the country, a political decision that depends on the local authorities.

On the eve, US President Joe Biden commented on what happened. “I condemn the assault on democracy and the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil,” the US president said on his Twitter account. He added that Brazil’s democratic institutions have the “full support” of the US. But he did mention Bolsonaro.

For his part, the former president also expressed himself on Twitter with a tenuous rejection of violence, seven hours after the violence broke out. “Peaceful demonstrations are part of democracy. Invasions of public buildings like those that occurred today, as well as those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, are beyond the rule,” he wrote. In addition, he assured that during his term “always” he has complied with the Constitution, “respecting and defending the laws, democracy, transparency and sacred freedom.”

In the United States, several videos uploaded to Twitter show him walking through the streets of a condominium in Orlando, greeting people who come up to take photos with him, walking in a supermarket or eating at fast food restaurants. According to EFE sources, he is staying at the house of the Brazilian athlete José Aldo da Silva, a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter, who has been one of his allies.

Both Bolsonaro and Trump have refused to acknowledge the victory of their presidential contenders, Lula and President Joe Biden, respectively.

Trump also did not attend the inauguration ceremony of Democrat Biden in January 2021 and preferred to also take refuge in Florida, at his seaside club in Mar-a-Lago.

Both were political allies during their terms and held meetings in March 2020 at the Mar-a-Lago club, thus demonstrating their affinity not only in their policies and their extreme nationalism but in their style and way of behaving.

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