Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (AFP)

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro plans to return to Brazil in March to lead the political opposition to leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and defend himself against accusations that he fueled post-election riots in the country.

In his first interview after leaving Brazil late last year, he was quoted as saying by WSJ, “The right-wing movement is not dead and will live on.”

He promised to work with supporters in Congress and state legislatures to pursue what he called pro-business legislation and to oppose legislation he considers promotes anti-family values, such as abortion and gun control.

“Losing is part of the electoral process,” he said. “I’m not saying there was fraud, but the process was biased,” he added.

Prosecutors in Brazil believe that Bolsonaro's social media comments about voter fraud sparked unrest on January 8 in the Brazilian capital, when enormous crowds encircled the Congress and the Supreme Court, many of whom expressed their support for Bolsonaro.

He remains under investigation as part of a sprawling probe of the January 8 riots.