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By Nick Reynolds
Senior Reporter, Politics
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Supporters of far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro are calling for the arrest his opponent, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, after Bolsonaro's refusal to concede in the country's recent election.
Bolsonaro—a former army captain who rose to power on a populist, socially conservative platform after seizing control of the country's Social Liberal Party in 2018—was defeated by Lula in a weekend run-off election this week by fewer than two points, just four years after ascending to power with 55 percent of the vote.
However, the controversial figure initially refused to concede and stayed largely silent until Tuesday afternoon when he appeared to say he would cooperate with the transition of power. On Wednesday, he officially conceded—albeit behind closed doors—reportedly telling members of the country's Supreme Court that the election was "over."
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"I have always been labelled undemocratic, and unlike my accusers, I have always respected the framework of the Constitution," he told reporters in a brief statement Tuesday. "As President of the Republic and as a citizen, I will continue to respect all the commandments of our Constitution."
By then, it was already too late.
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On Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes—who had previously rejected calls to investigate a "baseless" allegation of fraud by the Bolsonaro camp—ordered the federal highway police to clear nearly 200 blockades created by pro-Bolsonaro protestors in more than a dozen states. Protestors also restricted access to the international airport in the country's financial capital of Sao Paulo, forcing the cancellation of two dozen flights.
By Wednesday, pro-Bolsonaro protestors appeared to have laid siege to the country's military command center in the capital city of Rio de Janeiro, where protestors alleging fraud in the election called for the military to arrest Lula and reinstall Bolsonaro as president.
The rift closely paralleled similar phenomena seen in the United States following President Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump—an enthusiastic supporter of Bolsonaro's—in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.
Bolsonaro has attacked Brazil's election systems for years, resulting in a substantial rise in mistrust among his supporters about the legitimacy of the country's elections. According to September Gallup polling, two in three Brazilians said they did not have confidence in the honesty of the country's elections, compared to 30 percent who said they did.
Bolsonaro and his sycophants sought to take advantage. Before a vote was even tallied, right-wing media both in the United States and Brazil trumpeted baseless claims of rampant fraud in the country's elections, even as returns initially showed strong support for Bolsonaro in the lead-up to what ultimately resulted in a runoff election between the two figures.
In the week leading up to the election, Bolsonaro's son, Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, derided the election as decided before a single vote had even been counted, saying his father was the victim of "the greatest electoral fraud ever seen." Following the election, Steve Bannon—the former adviser to Trump and a key figure in the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol—urged Bolsonaro to refuse to concede, later writing the country's election was "stolen in broad daylight."
Newsweek has contacted the Office of the Brazilian Defense and Air Attaché for comment.
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