Bolsonaro Remains Silent and Refuses to Receive Ministers after Being Defeated by Lula

According to presidential advisers, Bolsonaro spent the afternoon at Palácio da Alvorada

  • Read aloud
Marianna Holanda Matheus Teixeira Renato Machado
Brasília

After the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) declared Lula the elected president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro remained silent and met with General Walter Braga Netto, his candidate for vice president.

According to presidential advisers, Bolsonaro stayed at Palácio da Alvorada all afternoon.

Folha found out that the president did not want to talk to ministers on the phone or meet with them after the defeat.

Brazilian President and re-election candidate Jair Bolsonaro arrives to vote at a polling station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on October 30, 2022, during the presidential run-off election. - After a bitterly divisive campaign and inconclusive first-round vote, Brazil elects its next president in a cliffhanger runoff between far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. (Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP) - AFP

Later, the president's aide, Mauro Cesar Cid, warned ministers that Bolsonaro had gone to sleep. At 10:06 pm, the Alvorada's lights were turned off.

The chief executive avoided talking to allies and did not make any public statements about being defeated by Lula.

Lula's victory marks something unprecedented since Brazil's re-democratization: Bolsonaro is the first president to lose the dispute for re-election.

The next December 31, the date on which the term officially ends, will mark his departure from office.

Translated by Cassy Dias

Read the article in the original language