Gonzalo Jimenez
(CNN) Brazilian authorities are urging supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro not to meet him at the airport when he is expected to return to Brazil on Thursday, his first time in the country since he lost re-election in October 2022.
Speaking before boarding his flight home on Wednesday, Bolsonaro said he would not lead an opposition to President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva upon his return.
“It is not necessary to oppose this government. This government is an opposition itself,” Bolsonaro said in an exclusive interview with CNN affiliate CNN Brasil at Orlando International Airport.
Jair Bolsonaro will return to Brazil on March 30, says his party president
However, Bolsonaro said he planned to continue helping his center-right Liberal Party “as a person with experience,” collaborating with “whatever they want,” CNN Brazil quoted the former president as saying. Bolsonaro said that he will tour the country in preparation for next year’s municipal elections.
Bolsonaro also denied to CNN Brazil any “irregularity” on the issue of jewelry he had received as a gift from the Saudi Arabian government while in office, stating that “the objects were searched,” CNN Brazil said.
Brazilian federal prosecutors are investigating whether Bolsonaro tried to smuggle two sets of diamond jewelry into the country, without paying import duties, while at the same time trying to prevent the expensive gemstones from being added to the public collection of the presidency. .
This was the destruction left behind by Bolsonaro supporters in Brasilia 1:14
Bolsonaro’s flight is scheduled to arrive at the Brasilia International Airport at 7:10 am local time [6:10 am hora del este de EE.UU.] this Thursday, after his three-month stay in Florida, United States.
In a joint press conference with several heads of Brazil’s security forces earlier on Wednesday, Brasilia’s public security chief Sandro Avelar urged Bolsonaro supporters not to disrupt air traffic at the airport for the 40,000 Estimated passengers who fly through Brasília daily.
“We urge you to respect this decision that has already been made, for the well-being of the supporters of the former president and your own,” said Avelar.
A joint task force of the military police, highway patrol and other security forces is working to ensure the arrival of the former president with minimal impact on the population and disruptions to traffic and flights, Avelar said. Bolsonaro will use a separate entrance at the airport and will be escorted by federal police officers.
Why did the American extreme right adopt the former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro?
Avelar said security forces will be ready to close the airport, as well as access to the government district, if necessary, in order to prevent a repeat of the riots on January 8.
According to the superintendent of the Federal Police, Cézar Luís Busto, Bolsonaro’s advisers have been in contact with the authorities and are aware of the plan. Busto said he saw no cause for concern at this time.
The US embassy in Brasilia issued a nationwide “security alert” to its citizens across Brazil on Wednesday, warning of reports that pro-Bolsonaro supporters will be in the vicinity of Brasilia International Airport. .
In a written statement, the embassy said: “Brazilian authorities warn that access to the airport will be limited and could cause disruptions and delays. Please plan accordingly to account for these events.”
Bolsonaro left Brazil on December 30, avoiding the inauguration of his rival, President “Lula”, which took place two days later, breaking with the Brazilian norm that outgoing leaders attend the inauguration ceremony of their successors.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
