Brazil: many roads blocked in the aftermath of Bolsonaro's defeat

Europe 1 with AFP 6:55 p.m., October 31, 2022

Truck drivers and other demonstrators blocked many axes in Brazil on Monday, some clearly displaying protest against the defeat of Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday against left-wing President-elect Lula da Silva.

Highways in at least 12 states (out of 27) recorded blockages overnight and Monday morning, according to the Federal Highway Police (PRF).

It indicates that "47 points of obstruction" remain at midday, including the highway linking Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, the economic capital of the country.

Dozens of protesters blocked a highway in the south

In the state of Santa Catarina (south), where Jair Bolsonaro obtained broad support, a few dozen demonstrators wearing yellow T-shirts, Brazilian flags and posters with the face of the president blocked a highway with trucks and other vehicles.

Singing the national anthem, they were reluctant to identify themselves or speak to the press, according to an AFP photographer.

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Several crossing points in the agricultural state of Mato Grosso (center-west), which voted mainly for the far-right president, were blocked in the morning "by means of burning tires and various vehicles", such as trucks, cars or vans, announced the Concessionaria Rota Oeste, the manager of a highway in this state.

Bolsonaro still hasn't acknowledged Lula's victory

In the state of Parana (south), also predominantly Bolsonarist, the PRF indicated that it had restored traffic on at least eight crossing points in the early hours of the morning but that a group of demonstrators continued their actions at other locations.

It was not possible at this stage to know if the movement was coordinated by a particular political group or if it was spontaneous, even if the demonstrators clearly displayed their belonging to the defeated Bolsonarist camp at the ballot box.

More than 16 hours after the official result, Jair Bolsonaro has still not recognized Lula's victory, unlike several of his government allies and many foreign heads of state.

After losing by a narrow margin (50.9%-49.1%), the president still in office until January 1, the date of the handover, first retired to the official residence of Alvorada in Brasília.

He then went Monday morning to the Presidential Palace of Planalto without making the slightest statement, noted an AFP photographer.

Each mobilization of truckers revives in Brazil the memory of the strike which paralyzed the country for several days in 2018 when they protested in particular against the rise in fuel prices.