Mass protests in Brazil as Bolsonaro refuses to acknowledge election defeat

Supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have shut down hundreds of roads in nationwide protests as they refuse to accept election defeat.

Aerial view showing supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro, mainly truck drivers, blocking Castelo Branco Highway. Picture: Caio Guatelli/AFP

Supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have shut down hundreds of roads in nationwide protests as they refuse to accept the right-wing incumbent’s election defeat to leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro, 67, broke two days of silence after his razor-thin loss to Lula on Sunday, giving a brief speech that lasted just over two minutes, in which he neither acknowledged defeat, nor congratulated Lula on his victory.

The far-right incumbent started by thanking the 58 million Brazilians who voted for him, before commenting that the roadblocks erected by his supporters across the country were “the fruit of indignation and a feeling of injustice at how the electoral process took place”.

“Peaceful protests will always be welcome,” he said, adding that people should not be impeded from coming and going.

“As President of the Republic and a citizen I will continue to comply with our constitution.”

Jair Bolsonaro made the brief comments on Tuesday in the wake of his Sunday election loss. Picture: Andressa Anholete/Getty

He then handed the podium to his chief of staff Ciro Nogueira, who said Bolsonaro had “authorised” the “start of the transition” process.

Lula, who heads the Workers’ Party, announced on Tuesday that his vice-president-elect Geraldo Alckmin would lead the transition process which would begin on Thursday.

Lula, who was previously president for two terms from 2003-2010, will be inaugurated on January 1.

Bolsonaro’s appearance, however succinct, capped two days of tensions over how he would respond to such a narrow loss after months of alleging fraud in the electoral system.

BREAKING: Truckers and farmers in Brazil are working together to oppose the election results 🚨

🔊sound ...🔥🔥🔥#Brazil#Brazilelectionspic.twitter.com/06VCS7Whum

— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) November 1, 2022

“Any place else in the world, the defeated president would have called me to recognise his defeat,” Lula said in his victory speech to a euphoric sea of red-clad supporters in Sao Paulo on Sunday night.

Bolsonaro remained silent, even as key allies publicly recognised his loss, including the powerful speaker of the lower house, Arthur Lira.

Bolsonaro supporters, mainly truck drivers, blocking Castelo Branco Highway. Picture: Caio Guatelli/AFP

Federal Highway Police (PRF) on Tuesday reported more than 250 total or partial road blockages in at least 23 states by Bolsonaro supporters, which they were attempting to disperse, in some cases by firing tear gas at demonstrators.

Protesters wearing the yellow and green of the Brazilian flag, which the outgoing president adopted as his own colours, said they would not accept the outcome of the election.

“We will not accept losing what we have gained, we want what is written on our flag, ‘order and progress’. We will not accept the situation as it is,” Antoniel Almeida, 45, told AFP at a protest in Barra Mansa, Rio de Janeiro.

Shock troops arrive at the blockade on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. Picture: Caio Guatelli/AFP

On Monday night, Judge Alexander de Moraes of the Supreme Court ordered police to disperse the blockades immediately. He was acting in response to a request by a transport federation that complained it was losing business.

Bolsonaro became the first incumbent president in Brazil not to win re-election in the post-dictatorship era after a four-year term in which he came under fire for his disastrous handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, which he famously called a “little flu”, despite it leaving more than 680,000 people dead in Brazil.

He also drew criticism for his vitriolic comments, polarising style and attacks on democratic institutions and foreign allies.

Bolsonaro used his brief speech to reflect on his time in office and said the victory of a majority of right-wing candidates in Congress “shows the strength of our values: God, homeland, family and liberty”.

Supporters watch Bolsonaro’s press conference. Picture: Caio Guatelli/AFP

“Our dreams are more alive than ever. Even in the face of the system, we overcame a pandemic and the consequences of a war,” Bolsonaro said, referring to Russia’s war against Ukraine, which has reverberated around the globe with rising prices and concerns of a major food crisis.

“I was always labelled undemocratic and unlike my accusers, I always played within the limits of the constitution.”

The post-election drama follows a dirty and divisive election campaign between Bolsonaro and Lula, who returns to office in a dramatic comeback.

Police reported more than 250 road blockages on Tuesday. Picture: Pedro Vilela/Getty

When he was previously in office, Lula crashed into disgrace in a corruption scandal that landed him in jail before his conviction was thrown out due to bias from the lead judge. However, he was not exonerated.

The election outcome showed just how polarised the country is between the two very different leaders.

Lula scored 50.9 per cent of the vote to Bolsonaro’s 49.1 per cent – the narrowest margin in Brazil’s modern history.

With a massive to-do list, Lula leapt into action, meeting Argentine President Alberto Fernandez in Sao Paulo and holding a series of phone calls with US President Joe Biden, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and others.

Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported on Sunday that the Biden administration was planning to send National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to Brazil in coming weeks to oversee the transition.