Brazil Election: Jair Bolsonaro's Supporters Call on Military to Intervene After Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva's Win
President Jair Bolsonaro's supporters are clamoring for the military's intervention following Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's win in Brazil's election. However, according to military experts, an intervention from Brazil's military is out of the question.
Lula won almost 51% of the vote, the country's electoral authority said on Sunday. Bolsonaro has not officially acknowledged the result. However, his cabinet has initiated a transition, Reuters reported.
Lula is scheduled to take over the presidency on January 1. Bolsonaro's supporters led festive rallies in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday. The crowd was carrying Brazil's yellow-and-green flag on their shoulders while chanting anti-Lula slogans.
During the rally at the entrance to an army barracks in Sao Paulo, retired government worker Reinaldo da Silva, 65, said they hoped the army would intervene in the situation.
Da Silva noted that they know that "those elections were fraudulent." He added that they came to the rally because they wanted Brazil to be "free," adding that socialism does not work with the Brazilian nation.
Brazil Election Results
Lula's victory was considered to be a remarkable comeback after he was banned from running in the last presidential election in 2018 because he was in jail and banned from standing for office.
The former president had been found guilty of receiving a bribe from a Brazilian construction firm in return for contracts with Brazil's state oil company Petrobras.
Lula spent 580 days in jail before his conviction was revoked and returned to the political fray. The former president said in his victory speech that they tried to bury him alive and still managed to make it.
Several world leaders congratulated Lula, including U.S. President Joe Biden, who said Lula's victory came "following free, fair, and credible elections."
The U.S. president noted that he was looking forward to continuing cooperation. Russian President Vladimir Putin also offered his "sincere congratulations."
Jair Bolsonaro on Brazil Election Results
Jair Bolsonaro released a video late Tuesday, pleading with his supporters to stop blocking the roads. He said it was disrupting and hurting the economy, The New York Times reported.
The Brazilian leader noted that he was "as upset and sad as you are," but that they must put their heads in the right place. Bolsonaro did not directly address the calls for military intervention.
He said he would continue obeying the constitution but did not concede to Lula. Bolsonaro reportedly told members of the high court that his election battle against Lula had come to an end.
Supreme Court Justice Luiz Edson Fachin, who met privately with the Brazilian president, said Bolsonaro also told him to "look ahead" since "it is over."
Bolsonaro has previously claimed that the electronic voting machines in Brazil are prone to fraud. However, he has not supported his claims with evidence.
Amid the protest on the election's outcome, highway police said that as of Wednesday morning, they had removed 630 blockades around the country, but over 150 are still in place.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: Bolsonaro Supporters Block Roads in Protest Of Brazil Presidential Election Results - From CBS Miami
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