BRASILIA: Brazil’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro returned from the United States on Thursday, welcomed back after three months by hundreds of chanting supporters at capital Brasilia’s airport.
Bolsonaro, who never conceded defeat in last year’s election, is expected to lead the opposition to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, officials in Bolsonaro’s PL party said.
Supporters with Brazil flags draped around their shoulders sang the national anthem as they awaited Bolsonaro to exit the arrivals area, where security was tight.
The 68-year-old former President will proceed from the airport to the headquarters of PL, which became the largest party in the House and the second largest in the Senate after the last election.
Before boarding a plane in Orlando, Florida, Bolsonaro downplayed his leadership role and said he would use his experience to help his party campaign in next year’s municipal elections, adding that the vote he lost in October is a closed chapter.