Brazil’s far-right President, Jair Bolsonaro, on Tuesday, spoke publicly for the first time since being narrowly defeated in Sunday’s presidential election by his arch-rival, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro thanked voters who had cast their ballots for him but did not acknowledge defeat.
But he did not dispute the result either, as some had feared he would.
His chief of staff, Ciro Nogueira, spoke after Bolsonaro’s brief statement saying that the “process of transition” of power would begin.
Shortly after Bolsonaro’s speech, Brazil’s Supreme Court released a statement saying that by authorising the transition of power, he had recognised the result of the election.
In the past, Bolsonaro has declared that “only God” could remove him from office and his silence since his defeat on Sunday had put the country on edge.
Before the election, he had also repeatedly cast unfounded doubts about the voting system.
Bolsonaro’s statement lasted only two minutes and he did not take any questions from the assembled reporters.
In the message aimed at his supporters, Bolsonaro said that “our dreams continue as alive as ever”.
He insisted that he would continue to strive for “order and progress”, the words emblazoned on Brazil’s flag.
Bolsonaro did not mention Lula, and in a break with tradition, he had still not called the man who defeated him in the election.
Hardcore supporters of Bolsonaro – who refuse to accept that he lost – have erected hundreds of roadblocks in all but two states of Brazil.
The head of Brazil’s Supreme Court, Alexandre de Moraes, had said earlier on Tuesday that the roadblocks posed “a risk to national security” and ordered that they be cleared.
But police have struggled to remove all of them, with more than 250 still in place.
The blockages are causing considerable disruption and affecting food supply chains.
Lula garnered 50.9% of the valid votes against Bolsonaro’s 49.1% in the run-off of the presidential election on Sunday. | BBC News
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