Trump’s inauguration: Brazilian court denies Bolsonaro’s request to travel

Right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro had intended to attend US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration next week, but his passport was denied by Brazil's top court on Thursday.

Nearly a year after his passport was confiscated as part of an investigation into his alleged planning of a coup attempt to stay in power following the 2022 elections, the court ruled that Bolsonaro still posed a flight risk.

The judge, Alexandre de Moraes, who had often fought with Bolsonaro, stated that there was still a "possibility of an attempted evasion by the accused."

The judge's ruling "diminishes Brazil's standing on the world stage and sends a worrying message about the state of democracy and justice in our country," Bolsonaro wrote in a post on X.

It's "another example of the continued use of ‘lawfare’ (judicial activism) against Bolsonaro — the systematic use of the justice system to neutralize him as a political adversary in the courts, so as not to face him at the polls,” the post said.

In an interview with the New York Times, published shortly before the court ruling, Bolsonaro was effervescent about the possibility of attending the inauguration.

“I’m feeling like a kid again with Trump’s invite. I’m fired up,” Bolsonaro said, calling Trump “the most important guy in the world.”
The guy who was known as the "Trump of the Tropics" while in government subsequently stated that "an appeal is still possible" against the passport decision on the conservative website Revista Oeste's YouTube channel.

Bolsonaro said that due of his long-standing friendship with Trump, his wife would receive "special treatment" at the inauguration.

"I've been suffering here, just like he was there," he remarked.

– ‘Persecuted’ –

The 69-year-old former army captain is facing numerous criminal accusations from investigations conducted following his narrow electoral defeat to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, while his idol is returning to office in the United States.
Bolsonaro claims he is being "persecuted" and has refuted all of the charges.

He is not permitted to serve in public office until 2030 for casting doubts on Brazil’s voting system during his failed reelection campaign.

Police have also recommended he be charged with falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination records and misappropriating jewels and other luxury items gifted by Saudi Arabia, valued at $1.2 million.

The most serious allegation is that he “planned, acted, and had direct and effective control” over a plot to block Lula from taking office.

While Bolsonaro cannot attend Monday’s inauguration, Trump will have another big fan in the crowd in the form of Argentina’s President Javier Milei.

Self-declared “anarcho-capitalist” Milei, who has described himself and Trump as the most important politicians on Earth, was the first foreign leader to visit Mar-a-Lago to congratulate his idol after last November’s election win.

Also at the inauguration will be Venezuelan opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia — recognized by the United States, Europe and several Latin American countries as president-elect after July 28 elections they say were stolen by incumbent President Nicolas Maduro.

His team said Gonzalez Urrutia, who found asylum in Spain and is ending an international tour, will return to Washington two weeks after holding talks with US President Joe Biden.

AFP