Jair Bolsonaro traveled to the United States days before Lula’s inauguration (REUTERS/Adriano Machado)

Jair Bolsonaro confirmed that he would return to Brazil in March, in an interview with the North American newspaper The Wall Street Journal.

The former president said he would return to his country to lead the opposition to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and defend himself against accusations that he incited protesters to attack government buildings last January.

“The right-wing movement is not dead and will continue to be alive,” he said in his first interview since leaving Brazil for Florida late last year after narrowly losing the election against Lula.

He also announced that he would work with his supporters in Congress and in state governments to promote pro-business policies and to fight abortion, gun control and other measures that he said , go against close values.

Bolsonaro never acknowledged Lula’s victory in the last presidential elections, but in the interview with WSJ He toned down criticism of the electoral process: “Losing is part of the electoral process (…) I’m not saying there was fraud, but the process was partial.”

Bolsonaro had said a few days ago that he planned to return to Brazil “in the coming weeks” after spending more than a month in the United States.

The former head of state flew to Florida two days before Lula was sworn in as the new president on January 1, then applied for a six-month tourist visa to continue his stay in the United States.

News in development…

(With information from Reuters)

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