Flávio Bolsonaro Calls Himself 'President-Elect' for 58 Minutes, Ridiculed by Brazilian Press

Flávio Bolsonaro had hoped that by Sunday night he would be called Brazil's next president. Instead, his decision to fly to the United States after his election defeat — and to declare himself the "real president-elect of Brazil" for 58 minutes — turned the far-right politician into a laughing stock, as Brazil's press and commentators piled on criticism.

Bolsonaro flew to Miami on Tuesday night, 48 hours after losing to his leftist rival, incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, by a margin of 4.4 million votes. Lula's victory had already been recognized by right-wing leaders around the world, including Nayib Bukele of El Salvador and Giorgia Meloni of Italy, as well as by Bolsonaro's own party and several key allies.

On Wednesday, however, after arriving in the US, Bolsonaro published an unusual letter — reportedly drafted with the help of ChatGPT — in which he described himself as the "real president-elect of Brazil" and made false claims of election fraud. Perhaps the strangest part was his announcement that he would continue leading Brazil's opposition from abroad, comparing himself to Charles de Gaulle — who led the French government-in-exile against the Nazis from London in the 1940s — and to 19th-century Cuban independence hero José Martí, who fought the Spanish empire from New York.

"All of them were considered criminals by the regimes they confronted. History calls them by another name," Bolsonaro said, also likening himself to Nobel laureate María Corina Machado of Venezuela and to Rui Barbosa, a Brazilian politician who went into exile in London in the late 19th century after challenging a dictatorial president.

Less than an hour after the statement was posted on social media, an edited version was released, changing his claim to "leader of Brazil." According to sources, the edit came after Bolsonaro was rebuked by officials in the Trump administration, who wanted to avoid a full diplomatic rupture with Brazil's actual leadership.

The revised letter also updated the outdated Brazilian coat of arms that had been incorrectly used on the first version's header, which read "United States of Brazil" — a name the South American country has not used since 1967.

Bolsonaro's departure and his brief but false "president-elect" claim in one of the world's largest democracies sparked a wave of criticism and mockery. Prominent political commentator Flávia Oliveira told GloboNews that the letter "seemed to have been written by a reckless half-madman."

The editorial board of Estado de São Paulo wrote: "Flávio's letter is not worth this newspaper's ink, but this disgrace cannot be ignored," before calling him "a con man of the highest order." Rio's O Globo said Bolsonaro's "shameful and furtive" decision had exposed the "pathetic" nature of the Bolsonarismo political movement, while Folha de São Paulo said the episode laid bare the "authoritarian, ignorant, and incompetent" nature of the Bolsonaro clan.

Commentator José Casado of the conservative magazine Veja wrote: "The comic plot has secured him a place on the political satire pages." And O Globo's conservative columnist Merval Pereira called Bolsonaro "a Napoleon of the madhouse."

Even Silas Malafaia, a combative televangelist close to Bolsonaro's father, Jair Bolsonaro — who is serving a prison sentence — spoke out sharply. "Bolsonaro's sons are a bunch of fools... a bunch of amateur idiots," O Globo quoted Malafaia as saying.

Some observers see Bolsonaro's departure after the defeat as evidence that his movement is in decline. Lula's foreign policy adviser, Celso Amorim, said this week: "I think Bolsonarismo has been defeated once and for all," describing the outcome as "the last breath of a radical, irrational, and deceitful right."

The Estado de São Paulo editorial board agreed: "Flávio belongs to the past and will soon disappear into the basement of political meaninglessness, where he should never have stepped out from," while urging conservatives to abandon Bolsonaro and back his ally Tarcísio de Freitas, the governor of São Paulo.

Others, however, warned that Bolsonarismo will remain a powerful political force, even as the Bolsonaro family's leadership of the far-right movement is called into question. On social media, users were equally unforgiving about Bolsonaro's brief claim. One meme invited supporters to his January inauguration — at Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Another mocked the movement's fascist-tinged slogan "God, Fatherland and Family," changing it to "Goodbye Fatherland and Family."

US President Donald Trump has refused to publicly recognize the election result, which he called "a great shame for the Brazilian people." But a US diplomatic cable obtained by Folha de São Paulo described Lula's victory as "surprising but decisive." Asked whether he considered Bolsonaro Brazil's "legitimate" leader, the US president replied: "I won't get involved."