Jair Bolsonaro was greeted by hundreds of supporters as he returned to Brazil to fight Lula da Silva

Former President Jair Bolsonaro returned to Brazil on Thursday after a three-month stay in Florida, seeking a new role on the political scene as authorities in the capital prepare for a populist far-right resurgence.

Hundreds of supporters dressed in yellow and green cheered him as they waited in the capital, Brasilia, where the far-right leader is under several investigations.

The Federal District Security Secretariat mobilized hundreds of police officers and closed Ministries Square to prevent gatherings.

Bolsonaro left Brazil before the end of his presidency. In doing so, he bucked tradition by refusing to hand over the presidential mantle to his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who won October elections by the narrowest result since Brazil’s return to democracy more than three decades ago.

While in the US, Bolsonaro has mostly kept a low profile, though he has made several speeches to Brazilian expatriates and conservatives, including at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland.

For the first time in 30 years, the deputy-turned-president does not hold elected office.

“I am without a mandate, but I am not retired,” Bolsonaro told Jovem Pan TV on Monday.

Before boarding the plane to Brazil at Orlando International Airport, he told CNN Brazil that he does not plan to lead the political opposition to Lula, a claim his allies do not believe.

Hundreds of Bolsonaro supporters gathered at Brasilia’s international airport early Thursday.

They chanted against Lula and repeated the protest slogan that sparked Brazil’s 1964-1985 dictatorship: God, family and freedom.

However, they were unable to see the far-right leader exit the main exit and instead faced morning traffic to gather outside his Liberal Party headquarters to show their enthusiasm.

“Bolsonaro was the best president we’ve ever seen, I’ve never seen an administration like his,” said Marinalva Wanderley, 71, who brought five members of her family from Sao Paulo to the Liberal Party headquarters.

I think he was in the United States with Donald Trump to see what was best for Brazil and the United States. We’d have much more opposition (Lola), that’s for sure.

Bolsonaro is expected to speak to lawmakers in a private meeting later Thursday. His party said in a statement that he was not expected to speak.

crowd of his supporters The most important government buildings in the capital were stormed and looted on 8 Januarya week after Lula took office, seeking to remove the new president from power.

Bolsonaro’s aim to regain political prominence may be hampered by a series of investigations, including whether he instigated the January 8 uprising.

The recent Estado de S.Paulo revelations concerning three crates of expensive jewelry allegedly brought to Bolsonaro from Saudi Arabia, put the former president at even greater legal risk.

His return to Brazil has been repeatedly delayed, and some have speculated that it may be indefinitely in light of his legal troubles.

Steve Bannon, a longtime ally of Trump and considered a strategist for the global far-right, told Brazil’s Folha de S.Paulo this week that Bolsonaro should never have left the country, dismissing the significance of the investigations.

Now that Bolsonaro is back, his first goal will be to rally opposition to Lula’s government, said Maira Goulart da Silva, a political science professor from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

“Bolsonaro decided to return to Brazil because he had not emerged a clear opposition leader to the government,” da Silva said, adding that the void could be filled by someone else.

The municipal elections to be held next year are an important step towards gaining political momentum for a presidential run in 2026.

Bolsonaro is expected to throw his support behind mayoral candidates from his liberal party, who, if victorious, could then use their prestige to outsmart him.

In addition to the diamond investigations, Bolsonaro has been the subject of about a dozen investigations by Brazil’s electoral courts into his actions during last year’s campaign, in particular over his unsubstantiated claims that the electronic voting system was vulnerable to fraud.

If Bolsonaro is found guilty in any of these cases, he will forfeit his political rights and will not be able to run for office in the next election.

Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, hinted he might seek the presidency in the future while speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference near Maryland on March 4.

“I thank God for my mission as the one-term president of Brazil. But I deeply feel that this mission is far from over,” Bolsonaro said in his speech.

On Wednesday, a federal court ordered him to return a second set of jewelry he received from the Saudi government.

The decision comes a few days after the authorities in the police launched an investigation into the attempt to illegally bring jewelry worth $ 3.2 million into the country, and gifts to the then president and his wife Michelle from the Saudi king.

Bolsonaro, who was given five days to return the jewelry, said his lawyer said in a letter that he would send the second gift to the government.

The court also requires that the first set of jewelry confiscated by customs officials in 2021 be held in the backpack of a government aide returning from Saudi Arabia, in the presidential offices, in addition to opening an audit of all the gifts he received. Bolsonaro during his tenure.

Local media reported that several Bolsonaro administration officials had tried unsuccessfully to recover jewelry — a diamond necklace, ring, watch and earrings — that had been held by customs.