Former Brazil president Bolsonaro returns to the country after self-imposed exile

Brazil's controversial ex-president Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday (March 30) returned to the country after his self imposed exile in US. This is the first time Bolsonaro is returning to Brazil after his exit following a defeat in the presidential election against his rival, the current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro was in Florida for three months and returned to Brazil's capital Brasilia on a commercial flight.

Bolsonaro, a far-right leader, left Brazil just two days before Lula's inauguartion on January 1.

Now that he has returned to Brazil, Bolsonaro is likely to face legal troubles on many fronts. Among the main ones isfor his alleged role in inciting supporters who rioted in the capital om January 8 in a failed bid to oust Lula.

It threatens to be a tense day in Brasilia, where authorities vowed to block supporters from holding a huge welcome rally at the airport.

Bolsonaro, 68, is set to start a new job next week as honorary president of his Liberal Party (PL), earning 41,600 reais (around $8,000) a month.

Bolsonaro recently rented a house in a gated community in Brasilia. He has said that he plans to criss-cross Brazil "doing politics" and "upholding the banner of conservatism."

But "I'm not going to lead any opposition," Bolsonaro told CNN Brasil as he prepared to board his flight.

"I'm going to participate with my party as someone with experience."

Before his return, authorities in Brasilia urged his supporters not to rally at the airport. They said that the police would be out in force to ensure that traffic runs smoothly.

The Liberal Party appeared ready to keep the arrival low-key, saying Bolsonaro would travel from the airport to party headquarters, where his wife, Michelle, party president Valdemar Costa Neto and "other authorities" would be waiting to greet him in a closed-door event.

(With inputs from agencies)

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