Bolsonaro Breaks Silence 45 hours after Defeat in The Election

President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) made a statement this Tuesday (1st) in which he broke a 45-hour silence after the result of the runoff election, condemned the roadblocks by allies, and spoke of indignation and injustice with the election in which he was defeated by PT candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). “The current popular movements are the result of indignation and a feeling of injustice at how the electoral process took place”, said the president, who read the statement.

Bolsonaro avoided classifying the roadblock movements as violent or even using negative words to describe them. “Peaceful demonstrations will always be welcome, but our methods cannot be those of the left-wing, which have always harmed the population, such as invasion of property, destruction of assets, and restriction of the right to come and go,” he added.

Upon arriving for the speech, the president turned to the side and had his conversation with the Chief of staff, Ciro Nogueira (PP-PI), captured by the microphones: “Will we be missed?”.

In a speech lasting about 2 minutes at Palácio do Alvorada, he said that he had faced what he called the “system”, he did not mention Lula at any moment or made a clear acknowledgment of the defeat last Sunday (30).

But, when criticizing the electoral system, he actually makes an implicit recognition of the voting process, acknowledging it as valid. The president did not speak directly about elections, defeat, or the adversary. But after his statement, Ciro Nogueira said that he will be in charge of the transition process. The authorities declined to answer questions from journalists.

Bolsonaro also stated that he will continue to fulfill all the commandments of our Constitution. He thanked the 58 million voters who voted for him, said he had “faced the whole system” and praised the “robust” representation of the right wing in congress.

The president also praised the growth of the right wing in the last elections, mentioning particularly the growth of the conservative benches in both the Chamber and the Federal Senate. The chief executive said that he will continue to fulfill all the commandments of the Constitution.

Translated by Cassy Dias

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