Jean-Claude Gérez, edited by Yanis Darras
It’s an uncomfortable victory for Lula. The former president of Brazil wins the election for the third time, against outgoing president Jair Bolsonaro. For the supporters of the latter, the defeat seems difficult to accept, while the idea that the ballot is corrupt, settles among the supporters of the far-right candidate.
It’s a win on the wire. Only two million ballots separate Lula from outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro according to the latest counts, or barely 1.5% of the Brazilian vote. A tight score, unprecedented even in Brazil since the return of democracy in 1985. So faced with the joy of Lula’s voters, on the side of Bolsonaro’s supporters, the disappointment is great. In the neighborhood of Copacabana in Rio De Janeiro, some of them are struggling to hide their bitterness when they see the voters of the left-wing candidate shouting and singing their joy.
“I feel sad, I’m injured,” explains Marco at the Europe 1 microphone, wearing a Brazil team jersey. “Bolsonaro is not going to hand over power. He has until January to do so and therefore he will assess the situation because there is clearly cheating and corruption”, believes the voter of the far-right incumbent president .
No official statement from Bolsonaro
A little further on a café terrace, Patrick does not hide his frustration. “I have already voted for Lula, but he disappointed me,” he explains. “So I wanted a different country. But I didn’t want my country to be represented by someone who stole and did all the worst for Brazil.”
Like others, the voter waited for a statement from Jari Bolsonaro, in vain, since the outgoing president did not appear before the press to acknowledge his defeat. His relatives even indicated that he had gone to sleep after the announcement of the results.