Jair Bolsonaro, president of Brazil, said this week he was thankful for his supporters as election results pointed to a new president of the country.
Previously, Bolsonaro had questioned the electoral system in the country, but this week, his chief of staff, Ciro Nogueira, announced that Bolsonaro had directed him to begin the process of handing over power to the incoming president, Lula da Silva, AP News reports.
According to the Associate Press, Lula da Silva won the election over the weekend by a thin margin. He received 50.9 percent of the vote compared to Bolsonaro’s 49.1 percent.
The election marked the first time Bolsonaro had lost an election in 34 years of his political career.
“I have always been labeled as anti-democratic and, unlike my accusers, I have always played within the four lines of the constitution,” he said.
“Current popular movements are the result of indignation and a feeling of injustice regarding how the electoral process occurred.”
Political analyst Thomas Traumann said Bolsonaro did not “recognize his defeat, and sustains the suspense, but as he wants to continue to dominate, to be the leader, he maintains the possibility of peaceful demonstrations.”
Bolsonaro never provided any proof that there was fraudulence with the voting machines, but his supporters have called for military intervention and for the Brazilian Congress and the Supreme Court to be disbanded.
Bolsonaro’s supporters are also still rallying against the election results, with some protesting by staging demonstrations and using trucks to set up blockades around the country.
The Brazilian Supreme Court has ordered the federal highway police to clear the roadblocks. Late Tuesday, highway police reported that they had removed more than 350 blockades, but there were still another 200 in place.
Several international leaders, including President Joe Biden, have publicly recognized da Silva’s victory in the election.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Buda Mendes/Staff
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
