Former president of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro greets supporters on Jan. 17, 2023, outdoors of a house the place he has been staying t in Kissimmee, Fla.
Jim Urquhart for NPR
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Jim Urquhart for NPR
Former president of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro greets supporters on Jan. 17, 2023, outdoors of a house the place he has been staying t in Kissimmee, Fla.
Jim Urquhart for NPR
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Rows of automobiles, a few of them leases, line the shoulder of a freeway, outdoors the safety workplace of a gated group on this Orlando suburb.
Lutty Sutton is among the many dozens of people that have proven up on the gated group on a Tuesday afternoon within the hopes of seeing Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right former president of Brazil, who’s staying in a trip house there owned by Brazilian blended martial artist José Aldo.
“I wish to see him. I’ll cry,” says Sutton. “I wish to say to him. ‘Do not quit.’ I’ve a lot hope in him. I would like him to come back again to Brazil.”
Bolsonaro got here to Florida on Dec. 30, two days earlier than he was supposed at hand over the presidential sash signifying the peaceable transition of energy to the rival who had lately defeated him, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
“He actually simply would not like Lula and didn’t wish to hand the presidential sash over to him on the inauguration.” says Bryan Pitt, assistant director at UCLA’s Latin American Institute.
Pitt says Bolsonaro might have taken inspiration from President Donald Trump, who additionally set a precedent by skipping Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021.
“I can not sleep, as a result of the state of affairs in Brazil could be very harmful,” says Sutton, who’s visiting the U.S. from Rio de Janeiro.
Bolsonaro’s keep in a suburb of Orlando close to Disney World has drawn criticism from U.S. lawmakers who’ve referred to as for President Biden to revoke a diplomatic visa Bolsonaro used to enter the nation, particularly since he’s now not president of Brazil.
Forty-one Democratic members of Congress despatched a letter to Biden after Bolsonaro supporters stormed the Brazilian nationwide congress, supreme court docket and presidential workplace on Jan. 8.
“We should not permit Mr. Bolsonaro or another former Brazilian officers to take refuge in the USA to flee justice for any crimes they could have dedicated when in workplace,” the letter states.
Brazil’s supreme court docket accepted an investigation into Bolsonaro in mid-January, increasing a wider probe into discovering these accountable for the Jan. 8. riots. Greater than 1,000 folks have been detained to this point.
The nation’s electoral court docket can be processing 16 separate lawsuits associated to Bolsonaro and his marketing campaign.
“It could be that he is hoping to remain in Florida till the warmth comes off a bit bit,” says Pitts.
Bolsonaro critics are noting the similarities between the Brazilian riot and the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Trump, who had lately misplaced his re-election bid.
“Practically two years to the day the U.S. Capitol was attacked by fascists, we see fascist actions overseas try and do the identical in Brazil. … The U.S. should stop granting refuge to Bolsonaro in Florida,” wrote Alexandra Occasio Cortez (D- New York) in a social media submit in response to video of the Brazilian riots.
Former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro leaves supporters after greeting them and posing for images with them Jan. 17 outdoors a house he has been staying at in Kissimmee, Fla.
Jim Urquhart for NPR
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Jim Urquhart for NPR
Bolsonaro supporters are espousing comparable conspiracy theories fueled by Trump backers, saying the U.S. stolen election served as a blueprint for the Brazilian one.
“It is actually comparable. They copied it.” says Eileen Lopes, one other supporter who got here within the hopes of assembly Bolsonaro. “Everyone is aware of, the votes are stolen.”
Lopes believes Bolsonaro received the election though an investigation by the Brazilian navy discovered no voter fraud.
Trump allies, together with former adviser Steve Bannon, espoused the conspiracy theories earlier than the Brazilian riots. Lopes believes, with out proof, that Bolsonaro fell sufferer to an elaborate scheme by the deep state in Brazil, the media and his political opponents to rig voting machines to steal the election.
“They’re liars. We do not have a poll. We do not have paper proof,” Lopes says in regards to the Brazilian election, reiterating an analogous conspiracy concept held by election deniers in the USA over digital voting machines.
Courts in a number of states have rejected fits alleging that the U.S. election was stolen. Moreover, no legitimate proof has been discovered to assist election fraud.
A lot of their mistrust relies on disinformation and outright lies on social media.
Former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro greets and takes images with supporters outdoors a house he has been staying at in Kissimmee, Florida, U.S., January 17, 2023.
Jim Urquhart for NPR
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Jim Urquhart for NPR
“I comply with him on social media, on the Web, ” says Sutton, who, like many Bolsonaro supporters, shares a mistrust of stories organizations. “The media do not say something. Individuals that do not comply with social media, they do not know the true state of affairs. They do not know.
“Nobody reveals the reality, they solely inform lies,” says Sutton, who makes an exception for a lot proper media figures Tucker Carlson on Fox Information and writer Glenn Greenwald.
“Each of them actually know the state of affairs in Brazil,” she says.
Florida has confirmed to be a stronghold of assist for Bolsonaro.
“Out of all of the Brazilian electoral districts, each inside Brazil and outdoors of Brazil, the very best share of votes that Bolsonaro acquired was in Miami,” says Pitt.
