Jair Bolsonaro, the president of Brazil, finally made a public statement after narrowly losing the election on Sunday. Many had anticipated or hoped for a concession speech, but none was given. But it it seems the brief press event itself focused solely on the optics of accepting the loss.
He pledged to “follow the Constitution” and called for “order” in the nation, but he made no clear concessions or offer his congratulations to announced winner Lula da Silva, who is set to assume office on January 1st. Bolsonaro didn’t challenge the outcome either at the time.
As one Brazilian national media source said regarding the extremely short speech, “Jair Bolsonaro has not said whether he will accept the election result. He didn’t mention Lula and he didn’t even congratulate the new elected president. It was a subtle pronouncement.”
Lula da Silva said in front of a crowd of supporters while celebrating the historic win Sunday night, “Anywhere else in the world, the president who lost would have called me by now and conceded.”
At the lectern now: @jairbolsonaro. pic.twitter.com/IA8y5mQprn
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) November 1, 2022
ALERT: Truckers and other protesters on Tuesday blocked highways for second day in support of President Jair Bolsonaro, who has yet to accept his election loss to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva https://t.co/8AIjqSZ6Mv pic.twitter.com/AdSkVtY7Ui
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) November 1, 2022
