Jair Bolsonaro breaks his silence and vows to “respect the constitution” after his defeat

He will wait for almost two days. Incumbent Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who lost the October 30 presidential election to his rival Lula (49.1% vs. 50.9% of the vote), finally spoke from the presidential palace in Brasilia (central Brazil) on November 1. “We Are More Alive Than Ever”He launched into a lightning speech during which he clearly did not recognize his defeat.

After thanking the millions of Brazilians who voted for him, Jair Bolsonaro wanted to quickly see out his term. “We beat an epidemic and the consequences of a war”, he cited the Covid-19 crisis and the conflict in Ukraine. Then he mentioned a “Sense of Injustice” on the electoral process, but made no comment on the election results and did not congratulate Lula.

“As a citizen and President I will always follow the provisions of the Constitution., was content to announce, before leaving his desk without answering reporters’ questions. It is The outgoing president’s chief of staff, Ciro Nogueira, confirmed that he would begin the presidential transition process. “Respect the law of the land”.

Jair Bolsonaro’s speech was anticipated by his supporters and by Lula’s camp, eager to begin “cooperation” work. Accustomed to controversial statements on social media, the outgoing president’s long silence surprised the Brazilian press, which has been closely watching his every move. On Monday, one of his sons, Flavio, broke the family silence by thanking his father for his support. “Who gave their sweat for the country and gave Bolsonaro the biggest vote of his life”. “Don’t abandon our Brazil!”He started on Twitter.

During his speech, Jair Bolsonaro objected Roadblocks paralyzed many of Brazil’s axes on Tuesday. “The right is against these methods”, he began. According to the Federal Road Police (PRF), 250 total or partial roadblocks were reported in at least 23 of Brazil’s 27 states. The situation is even more chaotic in the state of Santa Catarina (in the south of the country), where Jair Bolsonaro won nearly 70% of the vote on Sunday. It records the largest number of blocked roads.