After the defeat in the presidential election in Brazil, incumbent Bolsonaro gave the green light to hand over power to his challenger Lula. But the supporters of the right-wing extremist politician do not want to admit defeat. Some are even calling for military intervention.
After the electoral defeat of right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, thousands of demonstrators called for the army to intervene. Among other things, there were protests in front of a military base in São Paulo, where demonstrators called for “immediate federal intervention”. Protests also took place in front of the army headquarters in Brasília.
In Rio de Janeiro, demonstrators shouted “Lula, thief, your place is in jail,” as shown in videos posted by Brazilian media. They alluded to the imprisonment of the election winner Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from 2018 to 2019 on corruption allegations.
The left-leaning Lula narrowly won the presidential election on Sunday against the far-right Bolsonaro. Lula got 50.9 percent of the vote in the runoff, Bolsonaro 49.1 percent. It is the closest presidential election result in Brazil’s recent history. Only after around two days of silence did Bolsonaro declare on Tuesday that he “respected” the constitution and thus gave the green light for the transfer of power to Lula. In his statement, however, he neither conceded defeat nor congratulated Lula on the win.
Bolsonaro supporters have repeatedly blocked roads in various locations across the country since Monday in protest at Lula’s victory. The Federal Traffic Police announced that the number of road blockades had decreased. The authorities had recently stepped up action against them.
In his speech on Tuesday, Bolsonaro urged the demonstrators to refrain from violence. “Peaceful protests will always be welcome,” but freedom of movement should not be restricted, he said. The demonstrations are the result of “outrage and a sense of injustice” at the electoral process, the president added.
Lula meanwhile entrusted his vice-president-elect Geraldo Alckmin with the two-month handover process leading up to his assumption of office on January 1st. The process should begin on Thursday, said the party leader of Lula’s Workers’ Party (PT), Gleisi Hoffmann.
