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In his first public statement since losing Brazil’s presidential election, Jair Bolsonaro failed to concede victory to his rival, Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva. Two days after his loss, he also defended widespread protests by his supporters as an outpouring of “outrage and a sense of injustice”. However, the hardline president’s chief of staff Ciro Nogueira confirmed afterwards that the transition to the new administration will now begin with the liaison starting with Lula’s team. It remains to be seen whether Bolsonaro’s somewhat ambiguous statement would end the action by his supporters, who have set up barricades across the country, are calling on the military to stage a coup and are planning mass demonstrations on Wednesday, “Brazil Day.” Dead”. There has been widespread concern that Bolsonaro, described as the “Trump of the Tropics”, will refuse to accept the election result, having regularly claimed the election would be stolen from him. In his statement at his official residence in the capital Brasilia on Tuesday afternoon, the president did not once mention the outcome of the vote. He was narrowly defeated by his opponent after taking 49.1 percent of the vote to Lula’s 50.9. But he wanted to emphasize: “I have always been characterized as anti-democratic and, contrary to my accusers, I have always played within the four lines of the constitution. “We stand for order and progress and we stand for God, country, family and freedom. As president and as a citizen I will continue to follow all the mandates of our constitution… Our dreams are more alive than ever.” Bolsonaro did not concede defeat in his speech (get) While Bolsonaro, a 6-year-old former army captain, remained silent for two days after the election, his supporters took to the streets and set up barricades, halting the passage of supplies and leading to the cancellation of dozens of flights from Sao Paulo’s international airport. blocked access paths. The head of Brazil’s Supreme Court, Alexandre de Moraes, warned that the protests were becoming a “national security risk” and ordered the streets to be cleared. However, more than 260 are still blocked with most of the country affected. The roadblocks were put up mainly by truckers who have been a power base for Bolsonaro and have benefited from low diesel prices under his rule. Police cleared some of the barriers, but there were also videos on social media helping them put them up in some places. Supporters of Bolsonaro during a protest outside a military installation in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday (Reuters) The Federal Highway Police (PRF) has been accused of attempting to suppress voters in the northeast of the country ahead of the vote. The day before the polls, Silvenei Marques asked people on social media platforms to vote for Bolsonaro. Judge Moraes said police officers who tried to prevent the vote from taking place faced criminal charges. WhatsApp groups of Bolsonaro supporters, including former members of the armed forces, celebrated the road closures. And the mood of many of his die-hard supporters was to continue the protests. Eduardo Teixeira, a 2-year-old engineer, said after watching Bolsonaro’s speech on television “the president pointed out that he is a man of principle. You could tell he didn’t think the result was right. We have every right to continue protesting.” Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the second round of the presidential election on Sunday (AFP/Getty) Xavier’s partner, a former police officer, added “people are very angry about what happened. They were in shock for a day and then they hit the streets. I don’t think everyone will just stop, the future of our country is at stake.” Lula, who is due to be inaugurated on January 1, said there was an urgent need for Bolsonaro to accept the will of the people. “I need to know if the president we beat will let there be a transition,” he said. “We must begin preparations to govern this country.” He reiterated his commitment to unite a divided nation, saying: “I will govern for 215 million Brazilians, not just for those who voted for me. There are no two Brazils. We are one country, one people, one great nation.”
