He will have waited almost two days. Current Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, losing the presidential election on October 30 to his rival Lula (49.1% against 50.9% of the vote), finally spoke on Tuesday November 1 from the presidential palace in Brasilia (central Brazil). “We are more alive than ever”he launched during a lightning speech, during which he did not clearly recognize his defeat.
After thanking the millions of Brazilians who voted for him, Jair Bolsonaro preferred to take a quick look at his tenure. “We overcame a pandemic and the consequences of a war”, he listed, in reference to the Covid-19 crisis and the conflict in Ukraine. He then mentioned a “feeling of injustice” regarding the electoral process, but made no comment on the election results and did not congratulate Lula.
“As a citizen and president I will always follow the rules of the Constitution.”, he was content to declare, before leaving his desk without answering questions from the press. It’s the chief of staff of the outgoing president, Ciro Nogueira, who then confirmed that he would begin the presidential transition process “to respect the law of the land”.
Jair Bolsonaro’s speech was expected both by his supporters and by Lula’s camp, eager to start “cooperation” work. The long silence of the outgoing president, who is more accustomed to controversial statements on social networks, had surprised the Brazilian press, which had been scrutinizing his every move. On Monday, one of his sons, Flavio, broke the family silence by thanking his father’s support, “who gave their sweat for the country and gave Bolsonaro the biggest vote of his life”. “Let’s not abandon our Brazil!”he had launched on Twitter.
During his speech, Jair Bolsonaro opposed the roadblocks that paralyzed several axes of Brazil on Tuesday. “The right is against these methods”, he launched. According to the Federal Road Police (PRF), 250 roadblocks, total or partial, have been reported in at least 23 of Brazil’s 27 states. The situation is still very confused in the state of Santa Catarina (south of the country), where Jair Bolsonaro won nearly 70% of the vote on Sunday. It records the largest number of blocked roads.