Editorial published on Folha de S. Paulo's print edition front page on Monday, October 29th, 2018

Jair Bolsonaro earned in the ballots the right to wear the presidential sash. The majority of voters expressed their will to end the rivalry between PT and PSDB and start a new chapter in Brazil's alternation of power.

For the first time since the reinstation of democracy, the most evident and deepest-rooted right -- as far as such political orientation is possible in our country full of contradictions -- reaches the Palácio do Planalto with legitimacy.

During his victory speech, the retired Army captain softened this aggressive rhetoric of late, addressed "all Brazilians" in a generic way and paid the due compliments to the Constitution, democracy and civil liberties.

It's a commendable gesture, but one cannot forget that, during his 27 years of service as a Representative and as a presidential candidate, Bolsonaro showed countless times that he ignores the essential elements of democratic coexistence, like respect to the State institutions, protection of minorities the compromise with different points of view.

He also showed no knowledge of the role of a free press in modern societies. Outraged by a news article, he sued three people employed by this newspaper. Through his attorneys, he suggested that Folha targeted him with the intent of damaging his candidacy.

At best, he is mistaking independent, analytical journalism with partisan action. At worst, he wants to deter not only this company, with our obsession with being pluralistic and nonpartisan, but all news outlets that refuse to salute him.

There is nothing wrong with bark against the press. All the president-elect predecessors railed against Folha - and that strained would not have existed if the newspaper were to be less inquiring than it should.

But there is a distance between the ruler that shows his displeasure and the one that desires to obliterate opponents and silence critics; between the ruler prepared to lead a democratic nation and the one that doesn't accommodate contradictions, public scrutiny and the free circulation of ideas.

Folha will stay where it has always been, reliant on the 1988 Constitution, in the force of Brazilian democracy and in making of a better country for all. But Bolsonaro will need to take in the lessons he hasn't learned yet to prove he can measure up to the office he earned. May his administration be a good one. 

^{Translated by NATASHA MADOV}

Read the article in the original language