Bolsonaro’s silence after loss to Lula has Brazil on edge
- Voters are being kept guessing about whether the president will concede defeat to his old rival
- If Bolsonaro decides not to accept the results, it would affect the transition of power and could handicap Lula’s administration from the start
Nearly 24 hours after his defeat in Brazil’s run-off election, President Jair Bolsonaro has yet to be seen or heard from, keeping voters guessing on whether he will concede defeat to his old foe Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro did not make any public comments Sunday night after Brazil’s electoral court said he lost the election to Lula by less than two percentage points, the smallest margin for a presidential election in the country’s modern history.
Local press reported that the president went to sleep past 10pm and on Monday morning was taken via motorcade from the official residence to the government palace in Brasilia.
Speculation is growing in Brazil’s capital about the president’s next moves and television networks have arranged cameras around different government buildings in case Bolsonaro decides to break his silence. The president in recent hours has met his Chief of Staff Ciro Nogueira and some other ministers and advisers as well as his oldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.
In a tweet on Monday afternoon, Flavio Bolsonaro thanked his father’s supporters and said they would not give up on Brazil, without specifically referring to the outcome. Columnist Lauro Jardim wrote in O Globo newspaper that the president will not contest the election’s result but will criticise the electoral process, citing an unidentified government minister.
While his decision to not immediately recognise the result is not a complete surprise given his long history of attacks against Brazil’s electoral system, it is hardly a sign that the institutional framework of the country is about to be derailed.