Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro is returning home to reenter politics after leaving for the United States in the final hours of his term.
He is due to arrive back in Brasilia on a commercial flight from Orlando, Florida at 7:10 am (1010 GMT) on Thursday. Bolsonaro skipped town two days before Lula’s inauguration on January 1. His return complicates life for his successor and nemesis, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro is facing legal trouble on various fronts in Brazil – notably for his alleged role in inciting supporters who rioted through the halls of power on January 8 in a failed bid to oust Lula, the veteran leftist who beat him in a divisive election in October.
Brasilia authorities have vowed to block supporters from holding a huge welcome rally at the airport as it threatens to be a tense day in the city. Jair Bolsonaro, 68, is set to start a new job next week as honorary president of his Liberal Party (PL), earning 41,600 reais (around $8,000) a month.
The ex-president (2019-2022), who recently rented a house in a gated community in Brasilia, has said he plans to criss-cross Brazil “doing politics” and “upholding the banner of conservatism.”
However, Bolsonaro told CNN Brasil as he prepared to board his flight that “I’m not going to lead any opposition. I’m going to participate with my party as someone with experience.”
