"Flávio Bolsonaro (son of former President Jair Bolsonaro and a sitting senator) was the main right-wing/Liberal Party candidate in Brazil’s 2026 presidential election. He lost the October 25 runoff to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by a narrow margin (reports cite roughly 51.8%–48.2%). A literally last-minute decision by Supreme Court Justice Cristiano Zanin (a former Lula lawyer) that extended voting hours nationwide by two hours. The ruling, (issued around 17:01, one minute after the official close) ordered voting extended until 19:00 “in all sections of the entire country.” However, by the time the order reached polling stations, many had already shut down, printed their ballot reports, and sealed the machines. https://www.estadao.com.br/politica/eleicoes/zanin-determina-prorrogacao-da-votacao-ate-19h-em-todo-o-pais/
Zanin then issued a clarifying order stating the extension applied only to sections where the ballot boxes had not yet been closed. TSE President Kassio Nunes Marques instructed regional courts the same way: keep open only those stations that were still functioning at 17:00. Closed stations were not reopened, and their votes were counted normally.
Lula’s victory was announced on election night; Flávio disputed the process and did not concede the election. Within hours of the result, a Supreme Court justice imposed travel restrictions tied to ongoing investigations.
Flavio called the extension unprecedented, a mid-game rule change, a total break in equal conditions. Something that had never happened before in Brazilian election history. Flavio stated "“Nós vamos usar o nosso jurídico, vou pedir anulação dessas eleições” (“We will use our legal team; I will ask for the annulment of these elections”).
Brazilian federal police cancelled Flávio’s passports after he missed the court-ordered surrender deadline and issued a border alert. His lawyers had previously stated they did not know his whereabouts. The cancellation occurred while he was already en route out of the country via Argentina and Ecuador. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c6x2wyndvq8gt
After the election loss, authorities ordered him to surrender his passports by a Tuesday morning deadline so he could not leave the country while the probes continued. Sources close to him said he feared arrest.
Flavio did not comply. Instead he left Brazil, briefly entered Argentina’s Misiones province by road with valid documents, then boarded a private jet that made a technical stop in Guayaquil, Ecuador, before continuing to Miami’s Opa-locka Executive Airport. He traveled with his wife and two daughters.https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazil-wonders-where-earth-is-flavio-bolsonaro-2026-10-27/
Simón Levy (a Mexican lawyer and figure linked to Trump-aligned networks) has publicly stated that Milei directly coordinated or intervened so Flávio could leave Brazil safely, saying he is “alive thanks to Milei.” https://www.infobae.com/politica/2026/10/28/flavio-bolsonaro-esta-vivo-gracias-a-milei-afirmo-simon-levy-presidente-del-american-council/
The U.S. State Department said it would issue entry visas to Flavio and his family; President Trump publicly indicated he would approve their entry. This created an immediate diplomatic flashpoint with the newly re-elected Lula government.