President Bolsonaro’s silence is telling

While some of the supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro, who lost Brazil’s election on Sunday, protested the results on Monday and truckers blocked roads across the country in anger, Bolsonaro remained silent during the day Monday.

The far-right president has yet to respond to the election, nor has he congratulated his arch-rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who won the presidency by a margin of less than 2% on Monday. This gives the impression that Bolsonaro does not accept his defeat and can challenge it. As this extremely tense and polarized election approaches, Bolsonaro has repeatedly said that losing is not an option for him. “After the election, there are only three scenarios for me: either I end up in prison, or I die, or there is victory,” Bolsonaro said in an earlier statement.

On Sunday evening local time, when the result was officially confirmed by the President of the Electoral Council Alexandre de Moraes, Bolsonaro and Lula were called by him with the news of the result. “Bolsonaro then reacted calmly and politely,” De Moraes told Brazilian media. De Moraes has for years been the target of Bolsonaro and his supporters in verbal attacks on Brazil’s democratic institutions.

Isolated

Meanwhile, Bolsonaro’s main political allies reacted to his defeat. For example, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Bolsonaro ally Arthur Lira said that “the will of the majority, as these results indicate, should never be in doubt.”

And Damares Alves, former minister under Bolsonaro also responded. She said: “We lost an election but we didn’t lose our love for this country. Bolsonaro will step down in January with his head held high. Even Sergio Moro – the former justice minister under Bolsonaro and the judge who convicted Lula of corruption in 2018 – said on Twitter that this is how “democracy works”.

Previously, Bolsonaro had also cast doubt on the fairness of the polls, because he said the electronic electoral system, which Brazil has used for years, would be easily fraudulent. A charge for which he has provided no evidence. Brazilian media suggested on Monday that ministers around Bolsonaro would exert strong pressure on him to issue a statement on the result. This appears to further isolate Bolsonaro from his government by ignoring the outcome. The more there is no reaction, the more the tension increases. But that may be exactly Bolsonaro’s tactic and he wants to stir up trouble by waiting as long as possible with a statement. He may also want to wait and see what his disgruntled followers will do; a strong reaction from the population can reinforce its position as an unintended loser.

Bolsonaro’s main allies have accepted defeat

Normally, Bolsonaro communicates quickly and effectively with his supporters through his Facebook Live and social media, but there too it’s been quiet since election day. Bolsonaro supporters have called for resistance through groups on platforms such as Telegram and WhatsApp. “We call for military intervention. This result is false, the elections were stolen! wrote a follower on Telegram under the pseudonym “patriota” (patriot) in a group where NRC bed. “Patriota” received a lot of success. But there are also participants in the groups who call for accepting the loss and for a better Brazil, “even if the enemy is back in power”, writes Gabriella Figueira in the application group.

The unrest on the highways, where truckers blocked roads in at least 11 states on Sunday evening, also continued on Monday. Truck drivers in Brazil are a powerful group who – if they want to – can cripple the country. Food from city businesses is transported by road to Brazil.

Divided population

Meanwhile, after the Sunday night party, Lula looked to the future and had a busy schedule of meetings on Monday to form his new government. Congratulations poured in from around the world from President Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and several European leaders, including Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

The environment and the preservation of the Amazon rainforest are one of the issues that Lula wants to highlight. Under Bolsonaro, deforestation increased and illegal activities flourished in the world’s largest tropical rainforest. Although the return of leftist leader Lula, who led Brazil between 2002 and 2010, has not been an easy time for him.

Read also : A new era begins for Brazil with the election of Lula

Lula can expect strong opposition in Congress where the right has grown stronger. Although Lula is an experienced politician who is good at forming alliances, Bolsonaro’s camp should make it difficult for him. Plus, the big Operation Lava Jato corruption scandal might continue to haunt him. Lula was convicted, but ultimately all charges were overturned by the Supreme Court, allowing Lula to run for re-election. Lula hopes to unite the divided Brazilian population, he said after his victory. It remains to be seen whether Bolsonaro will give him the opportunity.