The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has harshly criticized this Tuesday the departure of the former presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro to the United States. Lula has emphasized that this country is the "first homeland" of the Bolsonaro family, recalling that his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro, sentenced to four years in prison by Brazilian Justice, also currently lives in U.S. territory.
"I regret that he has left Brazil, because he could have stayed here and shown that the accusations (...) were not true," Lula stated during a public event, in which he stressed that he did present "all (his) documentation to the Electoral Justice."
In his speech, the head of state reproached that Bolsonaro did not act the same way, after Lula accepted the challenge of the candidate from the Liberal Party during the campaign to make public his bank secret, his phone records, and his business interests, as well as those of his wife and five children.
"I tried to get him to prove that he is honest, by delivering all my documentation to the Electoral Justice (...) That is called respect for democracy. He did not deliver his. I was wrong," Lula stated, alluding to the lack of transparency of his opponent.
The president, who was re-elected for a fourth term last Sunday, has attacked the Bolsonaro clan, insisting that "Brazil is their second homeland" and that "their first homeland is to lick boots in the United States, as they are used to doing." With these words, he accused the family of the former president of maintaining an unconditional alignment with Washington.
Meanwhile, U.S. authorities have confirmed that they will grant visas to the former candidate and his family members. This decision is known on the same day that the Brazilian Police has proceeded to annul Bolsonaro's passports and the Supreme Court has ordered an investigation into the alleged foreign financing of his electoral campaign, as well as the supposed manipulation of the algorithm on social media to boost his content over that of other candidates.