Bolsonaro declines to concede Brazil defeat in first address

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday did not concede election he lost to leftist Lula da Silva in a brief speech that marked his first comments since results were released two days ago.

But afterward, Chief-of-Staff Ciro Nogueira told reporters that Bolsonaro has authorised him to begin transition process.

Bolsonaro's dress didn't mention election results, but he said he will continue to follow rules of nation's constitution.

“I have always been labelled as anti-democratic and, unlike my accusers, I have always played within four lines of constitution,” Bolsonaro, flanked by more than a dozen ministers and allies, told reporters in official residence in capital Brasilia.

Bolsonaro lost Sunday's race by a thin margin, garnering 49.1% of vote to da Silva's 50.9%, according to nation's electoral authority. It was tightest presidential race since Brazil's return to democracy in 1985 and marks first time Bolsonaro has lost an election in his 34-year political career, including seven races for a seat in Congress' Lower House.

Much like former US President Donald Trump, whom Bolsonaro openly mires, far-right incumbent has repeatedly questioned reliability of country's electoral system, claiming electronic voting machines are prone to fraud. He never provided any proof, even when ordered to do so by electoral court.

That has led many political analysts to warn that Bolsonaro appeared to be laying groundwork to reject election results.

In recent days, and without a public statement from Bolsonaro, truck drivers and or supporters of his blocked hundreds of ros across country. Many said election h been fraudulent and some called for military intervention and for Congress and Supreme Court to be disbanded.

Brazil's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered federal highway police to immediately clear hundreds of ros across country blocked by truck drivers protesting President Jair Bolsonaro's loss in October 30 election.

A majority of court's justices backed decision, which accuses highway police of “omission and inertia." Failure to comply will mean its director can be fined up to 100,000 reais (more than $19,000) per hour, be removed from his duties and even face arrest. Federal prosecutors in Sao Paulo and Goias states said y h opened investigations into blockes.

By noon Tuesday, highway police said y h removed 306 blockes, but more than 260 were still in place.

In Sao Paulo — Brazil's most populous state and largest economy — traffic jams around international airport led to dozens of flight cancellations, with videos on social media showing travellers rolling ir suitcases along highway in dark trying to catch ir flights. highways h been cleared by Tuesday morning, but airport officials said access remained difficult as traffic was still backed up in and out of airport.

re, Dalmir Almeida, a 38-year-old protester, told Associated Press that after completing three days of strikes, he and ors will drive ir trucks to military barracks to ask for ir support. “ army will be in our favour,” he ded.

At anor ro block in Sao Paulo state, protesters set tires on fire. Several demonstrators were wrapped in Brazilian flag, which has been co-opted by nation's conservative movement for demonstrations. Huge lines of cars could be seen snaking along highway.

Fears of escalation grew as country's leftist Landless Workers' Movement, a key ally of da Silva's that has long staged occupations of what it considers vacant or unused lands, asked its militants on Tuesday to organise demonstrations in several states to unblock ros.

Sao Paulo Governor Rodrigo Garcia told a news conference that time for negotiations was over, and he was not ruling out use of force by law enforcement.

“From now on, we are going to apply what (Supreme Court) decision determined, starting with fines of 100,000 reais per hour for each vehicle that is contributing to this obstruction," he said.

In Minas Gerais, a key battleground state in election, a video on social media showed a protester telling a reporter from O Tempo news outlet that election was “fraudulent” and warned of future protests. “We won't stop as long as we don't have a response from our president,” he said. “We want Bolsonaro in 2023 and for years to come." In Itaborai, a region in Rio de Janeiro state, an Associated Press reporter saw truck drivers kneeling in front of police officers and refusing to evacuate.

Users on social media, including in multiple Telegram and WhatsApp chat groups with names like “Paralysation," shared demands that military take streets, or that Congress and Supreme Court be disbanded and president remain in office.

Following election, electoral authority blocked two dozen Telegram groups that defended a military coup and called on ir more than 150,000 followers to organise demonstrations, according to online news site UOL.

Supreme Court's decision on Tuesday permits regular state police forces to reinforce federal highway police, and governors of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo states ordered m to deploy, news outlets reported. same was done in 2018, when an 11-day trucker strike brought Brazil to a halt. 

Image: AP Photo/Eraldo Peres