Jair Bolsonaro pledges to “respect the constitution” and “authorize the transition” with Lula

As of Tuesday afternoon, Jair Bolsonaro had been silent on Sunday evening since declaring victory over a string of leftist Lula icons (50.9 percent against 49.1%).

However, before his statement, the microphone took a few words from him and was followed by a smile: “We will miss him”.

“The President has authorized me to begin the transition process, in accordance with the law,” said his chief of staff Ciro Nogueira, accompanied by the team of President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Jair Bolsonaro, 67, has also criticized half the obstacles erected by his supporters in protest against victory since Sunday.

“Peaceful demonstrations will always be welcomed, but we cannot use the methods of the Left, (…) that stifle freedom of movement”, he launched. However, he claimed that these demonstrations were “the result of a sense of resentment and injustice about the way the election process was carried out”.

The Supreme Court, the guarantor of the Constitution, took immediate note of this speech in a brief press release: “By ordering the start of the transition, (the President) recognized the final result of the election”. The High Court, with whom the head of state has had a turbulent relationship since the beginning of his mandate, also “emphasized the importance of ensuring freedom of movement without regard to constraints”.

Jair Bolsonaro then met with several Supreme Court magistrates, including Alexandre de Moraes, who is leading several investigations involving the far-right leader and his aides.

Mr Bolsonaro “said it was over”, referring to the election, which was not on the official agenda, said magistrate Luiz Edson Fachín after the meeting.

COP27. but lula

The first Brazilian president to fail a re-election attempt, Jair Bolsonaro, was beaten on Sunday by the icon on the left (50.9% against 49.1%). Several foreign heads of state have congratulated Lula on her third term as head of state since 2003 to 2010. He will assume office on January 1.

Vice-president-elect Geraldo Alcamin was appointed on Tuesday as the coordinator of the transition team responsible for preparing the ground ahead of the handover. This team, which can number up to 50 people, will have access to public accounts and will be able to prepare the first decrees that will be announced by the new president after his inauguration.

Lula’s team wants the transition process to begin “from Thursday,” Gliese Hoffmann, president of the Workers’ Party (PT) co-founded by Lula, said Tuesday.

There are also plans for foreign trips before he takes over. At the invitation of Egypt, the president will attend COP27, which begins in Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday, Ms Hoffman announced.

An AFP digital investigation team found that during the head of state’s two-day-long silence, protests spread across main streets, and calls to support him on pro-Bolsonaro accounts on Twitter and Telegram multiplied.

In many parts of the country, police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters. It cleared 490 blockages over the past few hours, but 191 partial or total blockages remained, according to a report released around midnight on Tuesday evening.

call to perform

It was not possible on Tuesday evening to estimate the impact of Jair Bolsonaro’s statements on the continuation of the roadblock movement. However, several messages circulated in the evening on social networks, calling for demonstrations on Wednesday, a public holiday in Brazil.

The capital, Brasilia, was quiet following “preventive” restrictions on access to Three Powers Square, where the Presidential Palace, Parliament and Supreme Court are located. In So Paulo, a call for the “largest mobilization in history” was broadcast on Paulista Avenue on Wednesday, after hundreds of thousands of Lula’s ardent supporters attacked Sunday evening.