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Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, maintained a growing silence on Monday following his electoral defeat, failing to admit he lost to veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva — the latter faced with a tough to-do list.
Bolsonaro is still unaware of the outcome 24 hours after voting in Sunday’s polarized runoff election – raising fears that he may try to challenge it, which could lead to a volatile outcome for the country.
The charismatic but eclipsed former president Lula beat Bolsonaro by the narrowest margin in Brazil’s modern history (50.9% to 49.1%) to return to the helm of Latin America’s largest economy from January 1. An unprecedented third term.
After a sordid, divisive campaign that has divided the country of 215 million people in two, the 77-year-old leftist icon now faces a host of challenges, including a struggling economy, rampant destruction of the Amazon rainforest, And the powerful and powerful furious far right.
But first, it’s a huge question mark whether Bolsonaro will accept defeat.
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The far-right president has not spoken publicly or on his beloved social media accounts since the election results were announced, after months of accusing the electoral system of fraud and conspiracy against him.
A tense transition period began on Monday when truckers and protesters supporting Bolsonaro blocked highways in at least 11 states across the country, burning tires and parking vehicles in the middle of the road to stop traffic.
Dressed in the green-yellow Brazilian flag – which the outgoing president has made his own – protesters waved signs in support of Bolsonaro and sang the national anthem before being gradually dispersed by authorities in some areas.
On Monday night, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre Demoras ordered police to lift the blockade immediately. He acted at the behest of the Transport Federation, which complained it was losing business.
Markets were volatile but generally reacted well to the election: equities rose 1.3% after dipping slightly in afternoon trading in Sao Paulo, while the Brazilian real rose more than 2% against the dollar.
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