Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has remained silent Monday after election results showed a narrow defeat to leftist challenger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The two candidates faced off in Sunday’s run-off after Bolsonaro outperformed polls in the country’s Oct. 3 election, according to Reuters. Brazil’s incumbent narrowly missed out on a second term in office, claiming 49.1% of votes compared to Lula’s 50.9%, CNN reported. Lula, a 77-year-old former metalworker, was previously excluded from the 2018 presidential election over allegations of corruption.
“I will govern for 215 million Brazilians, and not just for those who voted for me,” Lula declared at his campaign headquarters. He promised to reverse many Bolsonaro policies, including pro-gun initiatives, according to Reuters.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – OCTOBER 30: Supporters of candidate Jair Bolsonaro of Liberal Party (PL) show dejection after candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Workers’ Party (PT) is announced as winner of the presidential runoff according to the official vote count of STE on October 30, 2022 in Brasilia, Brazil. (Photo by Wagner Meier/Getty Images)
Environmentalists celebrated the leftist’s victory, and congratulations poured in from various world leaders, according to Reuters. President Biden hailed Brazil’s election as “free, fair, and credible,” despite Bolsonaro’s oft-repeated claims of electoral fraud, the outlet reported. (RELATED: REPORT: Biden Submitted To Orders From Brazilian President)
Four days before Brazilians headed to the polls, Bolsonaro’s political party formally declared that government employees and contractors have “absolute power to manipulate election results without leaving a trace,” according to the New York Times. Brazil’s election authority called the claims “false and dishonest,” the outlet said.
Bolsonaro has yet to concede. Pro-Bolsonaro truckers blocked highways across the country in protest of Lula’s victory, Reuters reported. “I don’t know if he will call or if he will recognize my victory,” Lula told supporters Sunday. Silence from Bolsonaro’s campaign worries some that the incumbent may contest election results, Reuters noted.