Bolsonaro might leave for the U.S. before Lula's inauguration

Brasilia, December 28 (RHC)-- A publication in the Brazilian Official Gazette indicates that President Jair Bolsonaro is planning to travel to the United States to avoid the inauguration ceremony of Lula da Silva on Sunday, January 1, 2023.

For days, Brazilian public opinion has been conjecturing about what the far-right politician will do. Bolsonaro has remained completely silent and practically isolated since his defeat in the presidential elections on October 30th, which he has not yet publicly acknowledged.

In the Official Gazette, however, Institutional Security Minister Gen. Augusto Heleno published an authorization for presidential security personnel to travel to Miami between December 28th and 29th.

Some journalists are considering the possibility of Bolsonaro staying at the Mar-a-Lago complex, owned by former President Donald Trump, with whom the Brazilian politician has been in close contact for years.

Other journalists say that he would stay at a friend's house in Orlando, Florida.  So far, however, nothing has been commented on by his administration.  Everything points to the fact that former Captain Bolsonaro will not hand over the presidential sash.

His deliberate absence will be very significant given that the inauguration ceremony is a ritual loaded with strong democratic symbolism in Brazil, a country that lived under a military dictatorship for decades.

While all this is happening, conservative business people, politicians and citizens, who refuse to acknowledge Bolsonaro's electoral defeat, remain active demanding a coup d'état to prevent Lula da Silva from assuming the presidency.