MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Former president Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday he plans to return to Brazil “in the coming weeks” after spending more than a month in the United States.
Bolsonaro traveled to Florida two days before President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in as the new president on Jan. 1, and later applied for a six-month tourist visa to remain in the United States.
“There is nothing better than our land. Longing hits everyone’s chest here. We know that it really is a fantastic country,” Bolsonaro told a gathering of Brazilians in Boca Raton, Florida, in a video shown on CNN.
“I also want to return to Brazil. I plan to return to Brazil in the coming weeks,” she added.
A return to Brazil could be risky for Bolsonaro, who is under investigation on suspicion of instigating a violent movement by election deniers in his country who have sought a military coup against Lula.
The Federal Supreme Court (STF) opened an investigation into Bolsonaro for allegedly encouraging anti-democratic demonstrations that ended with the invasion of the National Congress, the Planalto Palace and the STF building.
The president’s plans were in doubt after his lawyer told Reuters last month that the former president would like to “be a tourist in the United States for a few months before deciding what his next step will be”.
Still, a US official with knowledge of the situation told Reuters this week that officials believe Bolsonaro will return to Brazil after Carnaval, which ends on Feb. 22.
(Reporting by Isabel Woodford in Mexico City; Additional reporting by Gabriel Araújo in Sao Paulo);