KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- As Brazil reels from mobs of rioters swarming its seats of power, its former leader has decamped to a Florida resort, where droves of supporters flocked to cheer on their ousted president.
Devotees have traveled in recent days to the temporary home of Jair Bolsonaro, a gated community with towering waterslides, for a chance to see him. He signed autographs, hugged children and took selfies with adoring masses, some sporting "Make Brazil Great Again" shirts.
"I will always support him," said 31-year-old Rafael Silva, who left Brazil eight years ago and now installs flooring in central Florida, where he stood outside Bolsonaro's rental home Monday. "He was the best for the country."
By early afternoon, the handful of supporters in yellow jerseys dissipated as word spread that the divisive, hard-right leader was hospitalized with abdominal pain. His wife, Michelle, said on social media that he had been hospitalized for observation because of abdominal discomfort related to a 2018 stabbing that has led to multiple hospitalizations in the past. A photo published by Brazilian newspaper O Globo showed him smiling from his hospital bed. A hospital spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a phone call and text message.
Before Sunday's angry storming of Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court and presidential palace, Bolsonaro had been seen repeatedly in this central Florida community, wandering a Publix supermarket's aisles, dining alone at a local KFC and, most of all, surrounded by clusters of adoring fans.
Though the Osceola County Sheriff's Office said it received a request from the Secret Service to provide a police escort for Bolsonaro when he arrived and he was still a sitting president, he has not been surrounded by a noticeable phalanx of security.
"He will make himself right at home in Florida's right-wing ecosystem of grifting and podcasting, finding allies with whomever thinks they can use him to advance their far-right agenda," said Andy Reiter, a professor of politics and international relations at Mount Holyoke College who has researched foreign strongmen.
His new home, Encore Resort at Reunion in the suburbs of Orlando, is made up of furnished rental homes with Foosball tables, screening rooms, Disney decor on the walls and Mickey Mouse stuffed animals on beds.
If it all seems too odd, the sight of the former leader of one of the world's biggest countries wandering in a gated community a stone's throw from Walt Disney World in shorts, consider the history.
A stream of regional leaders have called the state home, at least for a time, over the past half century, from Haiti's Prosper Avril to Nicaragua's Anastasio Somoza to Panama's Manuel Noriega. Alongside a list of other Latin American notables, they've camped out in modest homes and elaborate mansions and, in the case of Noriega, a Miami prison cell, where he served 17 years on drug charges.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday that the U.S. hasn't received an extradition request for Bolsonaro from Brazil. Behind the silence from Brasilia, Biden's team isn't weighing its options.
Administration officials are considering whether they can do anything to spur Bolsonaro to leave the U.S., according to people familiar with the conversations.
The discussions of the options are at an early stage and have included asking him to leave or exploring grounds to cancel his visa, the people said. They asked not to be identified because no decisions have been made.
Brazilian Justice Minister Flavio Dino told reporters that, as of now, Brazil had no plans to ask the U.S. for Bolsonaro to be extradited.
A Brazilian senator asked top court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Monday to order Bolsonaro's immediate return to the country.
Senator Renan Calheiros said Bolsonaro needs to explain his alleged encouraging of rioters who stormed Brasilia. He asked the court to issue an arrest order if the former president refuses to cooperate with the investigation.
Moraes, who presides over an investigation of alleged acts against Brazil's democracy, has already issued several arrest warrants for Bolsonaro's supporters.
Some Democratic lawmakers have urged Biden to extradite Bolsonaro, adding to pressure on the administration. Representatives Joaquin Castro of Texas and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York condemned the actions of Bolsonaro's supporters as domestic terrorism.
"The U.S. must cease granting refuge to Bolsonaro in Florida," Ocasio-Cortez said in a tweet. "Nearly two years to the day the U.S. Capitol was attacked by fascists, we see fascist movements abroad attempt to do the same in Brazil."
Administrations in the past have moved quickly to respond to such extradition requests when they come. In 2018, the U.S. extradited ex-Panama President Ricardo Martinelli, who was later acquitted of espionage and embezzlement charges.
"We have not as of yet received any official request from the Brazilian government related to this issue," Sullivan said. "If and when we do we'll deal with it, and if and when we have any information to provide, we will do it."
Bolsonaro does not yet face criminal charges in Brazil, meaning Lula's government has no basis for an extradition request. That could change as its investigation into the riots proceeds.
A HOT SPOT
A bevy of Brazilians have been lured to central Florida in the past two decades and have in turn transformed the region with scores of Brazilian shops and restaurants.
Florida has the largest population of residents who were born in Brazil -- nearly 130,000 people --- of any U.S. state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Many more come as visitors, with 830,000 Brazilians traveling to central Florida in 2019, the third-largest international market for the area.
Though Lula won Brazil's election by more than 2 million votes, Brazilian voters living in Florida appear to have heavily favored Bolsonaro. Election data for Brazilians living abroad shows 56 polling locations listed under Miami, the only Florida city under which data is compiled.
In each of the 56 areas, Bolsonaro prevailed, some by margins of 6-to-1. All told, more than 16,000 votes were counted among Brazilians under the Miami umbrella, with 81% favoring Bolsonaro.
"He is very popular with the Brazilian emigres in central Florida," said Joel Stewart, former honorary consul for Brazil in Orlando. Brazil opened a consular office in Orlando last year.
Bolsonaro has long been called the "Trump of the tropics," so it may come as no surprise that he wound up just a few hours' drive away from the former American president's Palm Beach compound. Both rode to power fueled by right-wing, anti-establishment anger, pursued nationalist platforms while in office, then spread claims about voter fraud in their own defeats. Followers of both men attacked the seats of government in anger after their preferred candidate lost.
Rodrigo Constantino, a right-wing Brazilian commentator who lives in Florida, says he sees parallels between Bolsonaro's support in the state and the reelection triumph of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Both, he said, amounted to rejections of "the totalitarian, woke, economic egalitarianism and sensational demagogy of the radical left."
Whatever anger might exist against Bolsonaro in Brazil, Constantino says Brazilians living in Florida will understand and accept him.
"If he wants to come to my house and eat barbecue and chat about soccer or talk bad about communism, he will be very well-received," Constantino said.
Information for this article was contributed by Mike Schneider, Matt Sedensky and David Biller of The Associated Press and by Courtney McBride, Eric Martin, Jennifer Jacobs and Josh Wingrove of Bloomberg News (TNS).
A routine community patrol car drives past as Brazilian supporters of former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro who also own vacation homes in Encore Resort wait outside the house where he is staying in hopes of greeting him, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, in Reunion, Fla. As Brazil reels from mobs of rioters swarming its seats of power, its former leader has decamped to a Florida resort, where droves of supporters have flocked to cheer on their ousted president. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Marcelo Pires, second right, a Brazilian who owns a nearby vacation home in Encore Resort, bikes with his children, niece and nephew outside the house where former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro is staying, in hopes that the family would be able to greet him, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, in Reunion, Fla. As Brazil reels from mobs of rioters swarming its seats of power, its former leader has decamped to a Florida resort, where droves of supporters have flocked to cheer on their ousted president. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Supporters gather for a rally to show their support for former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro outside a vacation home where he is staying near Orlando, Fla., on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. (Skyler Swisher/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
Former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, center, meets with supporters outside a vacation home where he is staying near Orlando, Fla., on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. (Skyler Swisher/Orlando Sentinel via AP)