Bolsonaro Departure: Four Unseen Photos of His 2022 Exit From Brazil Appear in a Memoir
POLITICS · BRAZIL
Key Facts
- —The country Brazil holds its first-round vote on Sunday 4 October 2026. Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the former president’s eldest son, is the right’s main challenger to President Lula.
- —What happened On 28 September 2026 Estadão described four unseen photos of the Bolsonaro departure on 30 December 2022. They come from the then Air Force chief’s memoir.
- —Who is involved Brigadier Carlos de Almeida Baptista Júnior, Air Force commander in 2022 and a key witness in the Supreme Court coup trial. His book was published by Autêntica in September 2026.
- —What it means for you There is no new legal fact. The photos add a first-hand record of the transition days to a campaign where the coup case is still argued over.
- —Still open Whether the Bolsonaro camp responds, and whether the images reach the final week of campaigning. Only Estadão has described them in detail so far.
Photos of the Bolsonaro departure from Brazil on 30 December 2022 have surfaced, less than a week before the country votes. The four images come from a memoir by the man who commanded the Air Force that day.
The newspaper Estadão revealed them on Monday 28 September in a column by Marcelo Godoy. They show Jair Bolsonaro walking to the presidential plane that took him to Florida, two days before his term ended.
What the four photos show
According to Estadão, the first image shows Bolsonaro and his wife Michelle leaving the buildings of the Brasília Air Base. The Air Force commander and then defence minister Paulo Sérgio Nogueira walk beside them.
The second shows Bolsonaro, “visibly displeased”, passing an honour guard on a red carpet towards the presidential Airbus. In the last two, the commander salutes him at the stairs and the two men shake hands.
The commander was Brigadier Carlos de Almeida Baptista Júnior, head of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) at the time. He says he asked an aide to photograph the boarding because he sensed the moment was historic.
“I kept those images and never released them publicly until preparing this book,” he wrote, as quoted by Estadão. The column calls them the only known record of what opponents of Bolsonaro called his “escape”.
A memoir from inside the crisis
The book, “Eu disse não! Uma trincheira antigolpista” (“I said no! An anti-coup trench”), is published by Autêntica. Estadão says it was launched in Brasília on Wednesday 23 September, the day VEJA listed it.
O Globo reported in late July that it covers the crisis inside the armed forces from 2021 until Lula took office. Baptista Júnior was one of the main witnesses in the Supreme Court (STF) trial over the alleged coup plot.
That trial ended in September 2025 with Bolsonaro convicted and sentenced to 27 years and three months. The former navy commander, Almir Garnier, received 24 years in the same case.
The last hours before the flight
The brigadier writes that the air base commander phoned him. The president and his wife had arrived to fly to the United States. He then ordered the honour guard and red carpet prepared.
He found Bolsonaro “visibly downcast” in the presidential lounge, according to the book. He also noted the absence of Vice-President Hamilton Mourão, who became acting president once Bolsonaro left.
Correio Braziliense reported on 30 December 2022 that Bolsonaro had not told Mourão about the trip. The book says a WhatsApp message reached the vice-president only shortly before take-off.
Estadão’s column names Miami as the destination. Correio Braziliense and other reports on the day said the plane was bound for Orlando, also in Florida.
Folha de S.Paulo reported that day that Bolsonaro would not hand the presidential sash to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The transfer of power went ahead regardless, and Lula took office on 1 January 2023.
Why it lands in the campaign
Bolsonaro’s eldest son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, is the Liberal Party (PL) candidate in Sunday’s vote. The coup case has come up repeatedly in the campaign.
In a TV Globo interview in August, Flávio said the former Air Force chief was “asking for votes for Lula”. Baptista Júnior replied on 29 August that the claim was “leviandade”, or recklessness, CNN Brasil reported.
That exchange shows the two readings on offer. Lula’s side sees a president avoiding the handover; Flávio’s side questions the neutrality of the witness.
What Is Not Yet Known
No public response to the photos from the Bolsonaro family or Flávio’s campaign had been reported by 29 September. It is also unclear whether the images will appear in debates or campaign advertising.
Only Estadão has described the Bolsonaro departure photos in detail so far. The book’s wider account of the transition rests on the author’s own recollection and has not been independently confirmed.
Sources: Estadão, Marcelo Godoy column, 28 September 2026; VEJA, book listing, 23 September 2026; O Globo, Lauro Jardim column, 31 July 2026; CNN Brasil, 29 August 2026; Correio Braziliense, 30 December 2022; Folha de S.Paulo, 30 December 2022.
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