Bolsonaro not contesting defeat: “I follow the constitution” | Abroad

Lula received 50.9 percent of the vote, Bolsonaro 49.1 percent. It was not clear for a long time whether Bolsonaro would accept his defeat. In the run-up to the polls, the radical right-wing politician had stated that he could only lose through electoral fraud. He also suggested that he would not resign himself to defeat, some even feared a coup.

Just hours before his speech, Brazil’s communications minister had already indicated that the president would not contest the result. Bolsonaro himself thanked the voters who voted for him.

“The president has ordered me by law to start the transfer process” with Lula’s team, his chief of staff Ciro Nogueira said shortly afterwards. Newly-elected vice president Geraldo Alckmin was named Tuesday as coordinator of the transition team that will pave the way for the transfer of power.

Bolsonaro also indicated that the statements of support to him must be “peaceful”. He immediately rebelled against the roadblocks – “leftist methods” – that “impede free movement” in just about the entire country. “The popular movements are the fruit of a sense of outrage and injustice at the way the electoral process has gone,” he added.

Earlier, truck drivers blocked roads across the country to show their support for Bolsonaro. The president cut the prices of diesel and truck drivers are an important group among his supporters. Brazilian police eventually fired tear gas to lift the roadblocks.

In total, there were about 267 blockades, in at least 22 of the 27 states. Among other things, the highway between the two largest cities, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, was blocked. So did the main access road to São Paulo International Airport. Brazilian supermarkets faced supply problems and called on Bolsonaro to solve the problem.

As Brazil’s new president, Lula is tasked with bringing unity back to his divided country. The 77-year-old man already extended his hand in his first speech after his election victory. “I will rule not only for the people who voted for me, but for all 215 million Brazilians,” he said.

Lula stressed that his main battle will be against hunger and poverty. Currently, more than 33 million Brazilians are below the poverty line, a number that has risen sharply under Bolsonaro. “We should not consider it normal that millions of men, women and children have nothing to eat or that they eat less than they need,” he said.