For the first time, President Jair Bolsonaro spoke about the results of the elections, this Tuesday afternoon (1st), at Palácio do Alvorada, the official residence. The demonstration took place two days after the victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), elected for the third time to the Presidency of the Republic on Sunday (30).
Bolsonaro appeared, in a previously prepared pulpit, accompanied by several ministers of his government and political allies. It took just over two minutes for a statement to be read, in which the president thanked him for the vote he had received, without mentioning the president-elect. He also commented on the demonstrations of supporters who are blocking highways in several states of the country. The blockades have caused a series of damages, such as hospital oxygen transport and airport shortages.
“I want to start by thanking the 58 million Brazilians who voted for me on October 30th. The current popular movements are the result of indignation and the feeling of injustice in the electoral process. Peaceful demonstrations will always be welcome, but our methods cannot be those of the left, which have always harmed the population, such as invasion of property, destruction of patrimony and the right to come and go,” he said.
With 100% of the ballot boxes counted by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Lula obtained 60.3 million votes, which corresponds to 50.90% of the valid votes. President Jair Bolsonaro won 49.10% of the votes, adding up to 58.2 million votes.
Bolsonaro also stated that he will comply with the Federal Constitution and mentioned his condition as the leader of millions of Brazilians. “As President of the Republic and a citizen, I will continue to fulfill all the commandments of our Constitution. It is an honor to be the leader of millions of Brazilians who, like me, defend economic freedom, religious freedom, freedom of opinion, honesty and green and yellow colors of our flag”.
Transition
After reading the speech, Bolsonaro left the central hall of the Palácio do Alvorada with his team, and then the Chief Minister of the Civil House, Ciro Nogueira, made a complementary statement on the transition of government.
“President Jair Messias Bolsonaro authorized me, when provoked, based on the law, we will start the transition process. [Gleisi Hoffmann]according to her on behalf of President Lula, said that on Thursday [3] the name of vice president Geraldo Alckmin will be formalized [como coordenador da equipe de transição do governo eleito]. We will wait for this to be formalized to comply with the law in our country,” he said.
Alckmin was announced this Tuesday as coordinator of the transition team. Other names will be defined in the coming days, involving members of Lula’s coalition parties.
STF
In a note released in the late afternoon, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) highlighted the importance of Bolsonaro’s pronouncement.
“The Federal Supreme Court emphasizes the importance of the President of the Republic’s pronouncement in guaranteeing the right to come and go in relation to the blockades and, when determining the beginning of the transition, to recognize the final result of the elections”, declared the Court.
After the speech at Palácio da Alvorada, Bolsonaro went to the Supreme Court and met with the President of the Court, Minister Rosa Weber, and six other ministers. The president was accompanied by the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes. The meeting took place behind closed doors and lasted about an hour.
According to the court’s press office, the meeting was an institutional visit made by Bolsonaro in which “the importance of peace and harmony for the good of Brazil” was highlighted.
Ministers Gilmar Mendes, Luiz Fux, Edson Fachin, Nunes Marques, André Mendonça and Alexandre de Moraes also participated in the meeting.
Article updated at 8:07 pm to add information about President Jair Bolsonaro’s meeting with ministers of the Federal Supreme Court.
