Standing behind a birthday cake, Lula blew out the candles, embraced supporters and addressed the gathering from a sound truck. Red Workers’ Party flags waved alongside Brazilian flags as the crowd sang and cheered.
Still recovering from an exhausting election campaign, the president told supporters he needed to rest his voice. But he also took aim at his defeated rival Flávio Bolsonaro, questioning why he had reportedly left Brazil so soon after losing Sunday’s presidential runoff.
Lula said he did not know Bolsonaro’s exact whereabouts but wondered what guilt might drive someone to leave their country immediately after an electoral defeat. He also accused the Bolsonaro family of being excessively loyal to the United States. A senior US State Department official said Washington would grant visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family, although it remained unclear whether they had already left Brazil.
Bolsonaro, who has rejected the election result and made unsubstantiated fraud allegations, is under investigation for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. A Supreme Court order required him to surrender his passports by midday Tuesday, but whether he had complied was unknown. His father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for attempting a coup following his 2022 defeat.