Two days after his defeat in the elections in Brazil, right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro made his first public statement. However, during Tuesday’s short speech in Brasília he did not say whether he recognized the victory of his challenger Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
“I want to thank the 58 million Brazilians who voted for me on October 30,” Bolsonaro said. “As President and as a citizen, I will continue to fulfill all the requirements of our Constitution.”
He also mentioned his supporters who have blocked numerous highways across the country in recent days. “The current demonstrations are the result of outrage and a sense of injustice at the way the electoral process was conducted,” Bolsonaro said. “Peaceful demonstrations will always be welcome.”
Lula received 50.9 percent of the vote in the runoff on Sunday, Bolsonaro got 49.1 percent. Even before the vote, Bolsonaro had repeatedly expressed doubts about the electoral system and indicated that he might not recognize the result.
