The transition was launched on Thursday between the government of Jair Bolsonaro and the one that Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula) is called upon to form in Brazil, where the number of roadblocks erected by supporters of the president contesting his electoral defeat had fallen sharply.
The team of elected left-wing head of state Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was due to meet with representatives of the far-right leader on Thursday afternoon, a meeting that follows several days of protests against the return to power of former President Lula (2003-2010).
In the morning, the number of roadblocks had dropped significantly, after Jair Bolsonaro’s call the night before to his supporters, in a video posted on Twitter.
The Federal Highway Police (PRF) only counted 74 on Thursday morning in eight states (out of 27), against 250 nationwide on Tuesday at the time of the peak. The movement, which has already created shortages in a country highly dependent on road transport, seemed to be running out of steam.
“I appeal to you: unblock the roads. This does not seem to me to be part of the legitimate demonstrations, “said Wednesday evening the head of state beaten by a short head by Lula last Sunday.
“Other demonstrations that have taken place throughout Brazil, in other places, are part of the democratic game, they are welcome,” he added, however. “I am with you and I am sure that you are with me”.
Jair Bolsonaro half-acknowledged his defeat, breaking a heavy two-day silence on Tuesday to say that he would “respect” the Constitution and signify that he had given the green light to the transition with his successor and sworn enemy Lula.
But his short speech endorsing “legitimate demonstrations” was received as a clear signal of encouragement by the thousands of his supporters who gathered on Wednesday in front of military command sites to demand an intervention by the army following the defeat of their leader.
“Communist Dictatorship”
According to the UOL news website, there were demonstrations in favor of an intervention by the army in front of military buildings in 11 states.
In the southern state of Santa Catarina, which voted overwhelmingly for Mr. Bolsonaro, Nazi salutes were filmed during those protests.
In Rio de Janeiro, Thursday morning, there were only a dozen diehards left in front of a military barracks, some of whom had spent the night in tents.
“I think we are going to have a communist dictatorship” with Lula, Jessica dos Santos Ferreira, 31, told AFP.
“He’s a thief, he’s not an example for my 11-year-old son,” added this black entrepreneur, who said she was ready to stay put until the intervention of the army.
In Brasília, the vice-president of Lula, the centrist Geraldo Alckmin, was to meet Thursday afternoon with the chief of staff of the far-right head of state, Ciro Nogueira, to begin the transition.
Mr. Alckmin, who was the governor of São Paulo (south), is responsible for coordinating the process leading to the transfer of power and has already had contacts with the outgoing government.
Gleisi Hoffmann, president of the Workers’ Party (PT) co-founded by Lula, and the coordinator of the government program of the icon of the left, Aloizio Mercadante, were also to participate in the meeting, according to CNN Brazil.
Thursday morning, representatives of the Court of Auditors (TCU) met behind closed doors with the Minister of the Economy Paulo Guedes, a pillar of the Bolsonaro government, and Mr. Nogueira to discuss the transition.
“There is a great receptivity on the part of the current government team, who want to provide the information. I believe that [la transition] will be done in a serene and quiet way, ”said Antonio Anastasia, of the TCU, quoted by the daily Folha de S. Pauloat the end of this meeting.