Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said goodbye to his supporters on Friday, speaking for the first time on social media since his electoral defeat and wiping away a few tears, two days before the end of his mandate.
The outgoing far-right head of state did not specify during this speech whether he would hand over the presidential sash to his successor Lula on Sunday, as required by the investiture protocol, while he must leave very soon for the United States.
“The world won’t stop turning on January 1st. […] We have a great future ahead of us,” Bolsonaro said. “We lose battles, but we don’t lose the war,” added the man who was beaten by a narrow head in the October presidential election by left-wing leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Jair Bolsonaro must very soon leave Brazil for a trip to the United States, the general secretariat of the presidency having authorized the exit of the territory of members of the personnel in charge of the security of the “future ex-president” for a trip to Miami “from January 1-30, 2023,” according to Friday’s Official Gazette.
Mr Bolsonaro did not mention the trip but spoke directly to his followers who continue to camp outside army barracks or HQ in Brasilia and other cities to demand military intervention to prevent Lula to take office.
“I never thought I would get this far,” Bolsonaro said tearfully, before declaring, “At least we delayed Brazil’s collapse for four years with this nefarious left-wing ideology.”
“I gave the best of myself,” continued the outgoing president, most of whose analysts consider the balance sheet of his four years in office to be very poor.
In front of his official residence in the Alvorada Palace, demonstrators following the live transmission shouted “coward! “, ” shame ! “.
Since Lula’s victory, which he has never congratulated, Mr. Bolsonaro has lived almost as a recluse in Brasilia and has locked himself in silence.