Protests wane in Brazil, but diehards stand by Bolsonaro : Since the highly divisive presidential elections over two weeks ago, protests in Brazil have decreased, but some ardent supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro continue to go to the streets.
Protests wane in Brazil, but diehards stand by Bolsonaro
In front of a military barracks in Sao Paulo on Friday, a retired metalworker named Jose Carlos Flamino swore to stay “as long as is required.” He still doesn’t believe that Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a leftist former president, won the election on October 30 with a clear majority of 50.9 percent to Bolsonaro’s 49.1 percent.
Flamino, 53, demanded that the military annul the result, claiming that “the balloting that gave Lula the victory is not credible.” It’s not just him. In addition to him, other ardent Bolsonaro supporters have set up camp in the Sao Paulo garrison and other military installations across Brazil.
Aguinaldo Coimbro, a 52-year-old market analyst, with a Brazilian flag slung over his shoulders, said Bolsonaro, a retired army captain, “was a victim of an injustice but we are battling here for the fatherland.” Outside the Sao Paulo military base, he was joined by over 100 others who screamed “SOS, armed forces” and pleaded with the army to “rescue Brazil.” The majority were dressed in green and yellow, the colors of the Brazilian flag that have come to represent Bolsonaro supporters.
“There was no election in Brazil. The populace rejects this. We do not desire to imitate Venezuela. Our freedom is completely free “Lena Pasqualini, a 62-year-old jewelry saleswoman who was resting at a support facility with food donations for the demonstrators, remarked. Around 100 demonstrators were still present at a makeshift camp near to the Duque de Caxias military in the early hours of Friday morning, compared to several thousand in the days following the October 30 runoff election.
Protesters say they speak for thousands of people even when crowds at demonstrations shrink to just a few dozen. The 70-year-old former soldier Paulo Campelo claimed that the election “was stolen, and that’s why everyone in Brazil is in the streets.” Campelo continued, “We want the army to get rid of those idiots who want to verify the fake elections. One wins, one loses, says Lula.
In a statement released on Friday, the Armed Forces stated that “the resolution to potential disputes…must utilise the legitimate instruments of the democratic rule of law.” The electronic voting system, which has been used in Brazil since 1996, is alleged to have been utilized in a “fraud” by protesters. Bolsonaro questioned this without providing any evidence.
That assertion is categorically refuted by many international observers as well as a report from the Armed Forces that was made public on Wednesday. Thursday, Lula urged the “minority in the streets” to return home. The president-elect stated that “one wins, one loses” in a democracy. How many times have I sobbed after losing?
Bolsonaro, who has not publicly admitted to losing the election and has been largely absent from public view for more than a week, requested his followers to remove the hundreds of barriers they had erected following the result but backed rallies in other places. Brazilian roadways were fully restored to normal on Friday, the Federal Highway Police informed AFP.
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