The defeated candidate in Brazil’s presidential election, Flávio Bolsonaro, has referred to himself as “leader of Brazil” in a letter he published on social media after leaving the country for the United States.

Bolsonaro lost to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in the run-off on Sunday by a difference of 4.4 million votes but has not conceded defeat.

In the letter, he alleges, without offering evidence, that he was the victim of “electoral fraud” and says that he will lead the opposition from the US.

He left Brazil on Tuesday after failing to comply with an order to surrender his passports, a decision which Lula described as “a shameful act”.

Bolsonaro starts his letter, which he posted on his X account, saying “I address the Brazilian people and the international community as the leader of Brazil”.

However, in a letter published before that which was later deleted, he said: “I address the Brazilian people and the international community as rightful president of Brazil.”

Both versions repeat the allegation Bolsonaro first made on the election night that an extension of polling hours on Sunday had benefitted his rival.

In the letter, he says it was “an electoral fraud unfolding before my eyes”.

The extension was requested by both Lula’s and Bolsonaro’s campaign teams and the head of Brazil’s electoral authority has said that the vote proceeded normally and in full accordance with the country’s laws and constitution.

An analysis of election data conducted by BBC Brazil and BBC Verify has also found that only around 34,000 people voted during the extended hours – far lower than the 4.4 million votes that separated Lula from Bolsonaro.

In his letter, Bolsonaro also addresses his departure from Brazil – which caused confusion after he disappeared for more than 24 hours.

It later emerged he had gone across the land border to Argentina, and from there flew on to Florida, following a brief refuelling stop in Ecuador.

He left after failing to hand in his passports to police – in defiance of the order by the Supreme Court, which had been issued as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering.

Bolsonaro has not been charged as part of the money laundering probe and denies any wrongdoing.

He has called the investigation a “politically-motivated witch hunt”.

He added that he never had the intention to leave his country, but argues that he was the victim of “political persecution”.

He ended the letter by saying that “I left Brazil but I haven’t abandoned Brazilians”.

While he said that he planned to lead the opposition from the US, it was not clear how he planned to do that.

His party recognised the election result and while some of its politicians have described Bolsonaro as a “political exile”, the Liberal Party’s leader Rogério Marinho stated on Wednesday that “there is no evidence” of the electoral fraud Bolsonaro alleges took place.

It is also not yet clear where Bolsonaro intends to stay or for how long. His younger brother, Eduardo, has been in self-imposed exile in the US since March 2025, saying he was the victim of political persecution. The two siblings posted a photo of themselves holding a Brazilian flag on Wednesday.

The Trump administration has provided visas for Flávio Bolsonaro and his family but did not say what kind of visas they were.

The US president did not explicitly endorse Bolsonaro in the run-up to the election and told reporters he “won’t get involved” when asked about Bolsonaro’s remarks about election fraud.

Trump had, however, said earlier that the run-off in Brazil was “very strange”, without giving further details.