Paraguay, a tax and political haven for Brazil's far right

Over the past five years, applications for residence permits submitted by Brazilians in Paraguay have more than doubled. Many of them are Bolsonaro supporters who are afraid October's presidential election will be won by incumbent leader Lula – whom they accuse of plunging the Latin American giant into an unprecedented economic crisis. FRANCE 24's Fanny Lothaire and Valeria Saccone report, with Jan Onoszko.

Brazil is holding presidential elections on October 4 and 25, but some voters have already decided to go into exile, convinced that the country will go from bad to worse if President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is re-elected.

These Brazilians support Bolsonaro: the father Jair, sentenced to 27 years in prison for an atttempted coup and his son Flavio, the far-right presidential candidate. Fearing the defeat of their camp, they would rather try their luck across the border in Paraguay, which has become an El Dorado for disillusioned Bolsonaro supporters.

Read moreFlavio Bolsonaro probed for corruption as Brazil election tightens

A small country wedged between Argentina and Brazil, Paraguay is now seen as a tax haven by Brazilians who say they can no longer tolerate the rising taxes under Lula’s government.

In 2025, Paraguay issued a record 40,600 residence permits to foreign nationals, 23,500 of them Brazilians. In 2026, this figure is expected to rise further. In the first three months of the year alone, 9,200 residence permits were issued to Brazilians.

In the far south of Brazil, the border is a hive of activity. Day and night, hundreds of cars and lorries cross the Friendship Bridge linking Brazil and Paraguay, with one objective in mind: staying for good.