Truckers protested the defeat of outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro Monday by blocking national highways. Bolsonaro had yet to concede defeat Monday morning following a tight race, raising fears the far-right nationalist might contest the victory of his leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Read how the day’s events unfolded in the blog below. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
- Brazil’s election authority called the race for former leftist leader and former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday. Lula won 50.9 percent of the vote to outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro’s 49.1 percent, with a margin of 2 million votes.
- About 124 million Brazilians voted in the 2022 presidential election, or nearly 80 percent of the more than 156 million eligible.
- As of Monday, Bolsonaro had yet to concede defeat.
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11:40pm: Brazil's Bolsonaro will not publicly address his election defeat until Tuesday
President Jair Bolsonaro will not publicly address his defeat in Brazil's presidential election until Tuesday, a minister said, amid doubts over whether the far-right nationalist will accept the victory of his leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro was holding off on making remarks so he could return to his residence Monday evening and prepare a speech, Communications Minister Fabio Faria told Reuters.
The head of an allied party, Claudio Cajado, had earlier said that Bolsonaro would address the nation on Monday, nearly 24 hours after Brazil's presidential election was decided.
11:20pm: Brazil's Lula would like to attend COP27 summit, says foreign policy adviser
Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is keen on going to the COP27 United Nations climate summit in November, his senior foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim said on Monday, a day after he won the country's presidential election.
"He is interested (in going) and he received an invitation from (Brazilian) governors," Amorim told journalists in Sao Paulo. "Now we need to see the exact dates and whether it will work or not."
9:51pm: Brazil's Bolsonaro still silent on election loss to Lula
Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro maintained an increasingly loud silence Monday after his election defeat, failing to acknowledge his loss to veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva – who faces a tough road ahead.
After a dirty, divisive campaign that left the country of 215 million people split in two, the 77-year-old leftist icon now faces a laundry list of challenges, including a struggling economy, rampant destruction of the Amazon rainforest, and a powerful and angry far-right.
Twenty-four hours after the close of voting in Sunday's deeply polarising runoff election, Bolsonaro had still not recognized the outcome – raising fears he could try to challenge it, with potentially turbulent results for the country.
The far-right president has not spoken publicly or on his social media accounts since the result was announced, after months of alleging fraud in the electoral system and a conspiracy against him.
7:42pm: Protesters block road to Brazil's Paranagua port
Brazil's Paranagua port authority on Monday said one of the main roads giving access to the port was being blocked by protesters, adding that there was no immediate disruption to cargo movement.
Roadblocks in at least 12 Brazilian states by truckers who support outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro could affect agricultural exports.
6:43pm: Bolsonaro to speak on election result on Monday afternoon, says allied party leader
Outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro will break his silence on the country's presidential election result on Monday afternoon, the acting chief of an allied party said, more than 16 hours after he lost to his adversary Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
"In principle, they want him to read a text, but the format is not yet defined," Claudio Cajado said, pointing out that it is also not certain that Bolsonaro will publicly concede defeat.
6:19pm: Brazil's Lula to speak with Biden later on Monday
Brazil's President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is set to speak with US President Joe Biden later on Monday, said the head of Lula's Workers Party, a day after he won the country's presidential runoff ousting far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro.
Biden moved quickly to congratulate Lula on Sunday for his victory in "free, fair and credible elections", according to a White House statement. Bolsonaro has yet to concede.
3:57pm: Brazil's Lula to send reps to COP27 climate summit after election win
Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will send representatives to next month's COP27 United Nations climate summit, allied environmentalist Marina Silva said on Monday, a day after the left-wing former president won a third term.
The congresswoman-elect told Reuters in an interview that Lula would "definitely send broad representation" even if it was not an official delegation ahead of his Jan.1 inauguration.
3:36pm: Stocks rise in volatile session after Lula's win
Brazil's real reversed course to rally 1.6 percent on Monday and stocks followed a similar pattern as leftist candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won a presidential election run-off, while a strong dollar weighed on most other emerging market currencies.
The real, among the best performing emerging market currencies this year, recouped early losses of up to 2 percent. The currency is on course to mark a near 4 percent gain in October. Brazil's benchmark stocks index rose 1.3 percent, with mining giant Vale and Itau Unibanco up around 3 percent each. Oil major and privatisation candidate Petrobras however, fell 3.7 percent.
3:25pm Nordic banking powerhouse may lift ban on Brazil bonds after Lula win
The asset management arm of Nordea, one of the biggest banks in the Nordics, on Monday said it may lift a ban on buying Brazilian government bonds previously established over environmental concerns, after Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won Brazil's presidential election on Sunday.
Nordea Asset Management's (NAM) head of responsible investing, Eric Christian Pedersen, told Reuters in a statement that the firm is considering whether to lift a prohibition on new government debt purchases instituted in 2019 over concerns about fires in the Amazon rainforest.
NAM has about €237 billion of assets under management, according to its website.
2:45pm: Trucks, protesters block Brazil highways after Bolsonaro rout
Truckers and other protesters on Monday blocked some highways in Brazil in an apparent protest over the electoral defeat of far-right Bolsonaro to leftist Lula da Silva, authorities said.
Burning tires, as well as vehicles such as trucks, cars and vans were blocking several points in the central-western agricultural state of Mato Grosso, which largely supports Bolsonaro, reported the company which manages the highway in the state.
It was not immediately clear if the protests were being organised by a particular group. Brazil has a powerful, loosely organised truckers' movement that is heavily pro-Bolsonaro.
Local media reported road blockages in at least five other states, including Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.
(FRANCE 24 with AP, AFP and Reuters)
