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Brazil's Bolsonaro to return for the first time since January 8 riots

Bolsonaro said that he would not lead the opposition against Lula

Jair Bolsonaro Jair Bolsonaro | AP

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro is on his way to the country after months of being in self-exile after the riots on January 8. Bolsonaro was in the US for three months. His supporters claimed fraud in his defeat to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva-- they stormed the Supreme Court. He travelled to the US after applying for a six-month tourist visa.

While Bolsonaro said that he would not lead the opposition against Lula, in an interview with CNN he said he would help his Liberal Party as a "person with experience" and that he intended to travel across Brazil to campaign in next year's local elections. 

Bolsonaro faces legal trouble on various fronts. He is also at the centre of a scandal that alleges that he tried to illegally import and keep millions of dollars worth of jewellery given to him and his wife by Saudi Arabia in 2019, an AFP report reads. The jewels were impounded in 2021 when a member of  Bolsonaro's entourage tried to bring them into the country.

Bolsonaro reportedly spoke and took pictures with throngs of supporters when he arrived at the terminal in Orlando. He faces 16 cases before Brazil's Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), which could prevent him from running for office for eight years. Bolsonaro denies having caused the riots, but 'regrets' it.  

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