Jair Bolsonaro has reportedly thrown in the towel after his defeat in Brazil’s presidential election on Sunday, telling members of the supreme court: “It’s over.”
He remained silent for almost two days after being beaten by former leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the vote. When Bolsonaro finally appeared before the cameras on Tuesday afternoon, he did not explicitly acknowledge defeat or congratulate his victor.
However, shortly after that appearance, he went to the supreme court where he met with seven of its judges, including Edson Fachin, who later told reporters that Bolsonaro had indicated to them that he understood the writ was on the wall
“The president used the verb ‘end’ in the past tense,” Fachin said. “He said, ‘It’s over.’ So [one must] look ahead.”
In an interview with O Globo newspaper, Bolsonaro’s vice president, Hamilton Mourão, made it clear that he accepted defeat. “There’s no point in crying anymore, we’ve lost the game,” he said.
Mourão also noted his opposition to pro-Bolsonaro protests that have involved hardliners blocking roads to demand a military uprising, causing traffic chaos in cities such as Rio and São Paulo. “There are 58 million people who are unhappy,” Mourão said of Bolsonaro’s voters. “But they agreed to participate in the match. So now they have to calm down.”
Bolsonaro appeared to send a different message with his deliberately ambiguous two-minute address on Tuesday. In it, the right-wing populist described the demonstrations as “the result of indignation and a feeling of injustice regarding the development of the electoral process”. “Peaceful protests will always be welcome,” Bolsonaro said, though he said destruction was not welcome.
Some die-hard supporters reportedly took those words as a call to stay off the streets. But the demonstrations appeared to be waning by Wednesday morning, with federal highway police saying there were 167 barricades, down from 563 on Monday.
Brazil: Bolsonaro’s supporters block roads in protest against election defeat – video
Lula won Brazil’s most important election in decades by a margin of 2.1 million votes (50.9% to 49.1%) and has been quickly embraced by the international community after four years in which Brazil made a pariah under Bolsonaro.
US Vice President Kamala Harris plans to attend Lula’s inauguration in the capital, Brasilia, on January 1.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: “Congratulations… I look forward to working together on the issues that matter to the UK and Brazil, from growing the global economy to protecting the planet’s natural resources and promotion of democratic values”.
‘I’m going to cry’: euphoria in the streets of Brazil as Lula wins – video