Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro set to give up the fight

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro appears ready to concede defeat to left-wing rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the country’s most divisive election in its recent history.

Brazilian president-elect Lula da Silva in Sao Paulo. Picture: Getty Images

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday appeared ready to concede defeat to left-wing rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the country’s most divisive election in its recent history.

Mr Bolsonaro told his cabinet that he did not plan to challenge the result of the election but nor did he plan to congratulate the winner.

The President and his supporters were reported to be wrangling over the wording of his first comments since Sunday’s election, which official results showed that Lula won by a slender majority. Several allies of Mr Bolsonaro have already accepted that he lost.

A convoy left the presidential palace on Monday afternoon but neither Mr Bolsonaro nor his sons, who are his advisers, made any comment.

The President’s unusual silence raised fears that he would try to contest the result, even though world leaders and many in the Bolsonaro government, have already congratulated Lula.

The result gave Lula 50.9 per cent of the vote to Mr Bolsonaro’s 49.1 per cent, the narrowest victory since Brazil ended two decades of military rule in 1985. It is also the first time a sitting Brazilian president has been voted out of office.

It represents an extraordinary comeback for Lula, who was imprisoned in 2018 for corruption on charges that were later annulled. “They tried to bury me alive, but here I am,” he told supporters in a Sao Paulo hotel shortly after the result was confirmed.

“I will govern for 215 million Brazilians and not just for those who voted for me. There are not two Brazils. We are one country, one people, one great nation.”

Mr Bolsonaro’s defeat has been welcomed by environmentalists, who had raised alarm about rising levels of Amazon ­deforestation on his watch.

“The outcome of the Brazilian election presents an opportunity to change the course of history, not just for Brazil and the Amazon but for the world,” actor Leonardo DiCaprio tweeted.

Perhaps fearing that Mr Bolsonaro might contest the vote, world leaders were quick to recognise the result.

US President Joe Biden said: “I send my congratulations to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on his election to be the next president of Brazil following free, fair and credible elections.” Lula and Mr Biden also spoke on the phone on Monday.

Lula received his first visit from a foreign leader as president-elect, from President Alberto Fernandez of Argentina. The two men embraced and Mr Fernandez tweeted later: “We have a ­future which summons us.”

Anthony Albanese tweeted: “Huge congratulations to @LulaOficial on a tremendous victory in the Brazilian elections. Look forward to working with you on protecting our global environment.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, who had clashed with Mr Bolsonaro over his climate policies, also congratulated Lula and said the result opened “a new page” in the nation’s history.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: “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 promoting democratic values.”

The Chinese government sent its “warmest congratulations”.

The comments will increase pressure on Mr Bolsonaro to ­accept the result, as will remarks from some of his allies. Damares Alves, a former human rights minister and friend of Mr Bolsonaro, said: “We lost an election,” adding: “Bolsonaro will leave the presidency in January.”

The inauguration of Lula is scheduled to take place on January 1. Until then the incumbent President remains commander-in-chief of the armed forces and has control over the country’s police forces. The army leadership is understood to be determined to remain politically neutral but there have been signs of partisan support from the police.

In a sign that some hardcore Bolsonaro supporters did not ­accept the result, truck drivers blocked several motorways across Brazil on Monday, with at least 70 blockades reported by the police.

The Times