They reject the results of the presidential election. Tens of thousands of protesters marched across Brazil on Wednesday November 2 to call for military intervention against Luiz Inacio Lula (Labor Party), who had been elected president of the country three days earlier. Rallies of this kind took place in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and the capital Brasilia in particular.
“Lula, thief, your place is in prison,” chanted demonstrators in Rio in front of the city’s military command. In Sao Paulo, thousands of Bolsonarists demonstrated in front of the Southeast Military Command, chanting “immediate federal intervention,” demanding that the army intervene, an AFP journalist noted.
Marcha Intervenção Federal a caminho a ponte Hercilio luz em Florianópolis. pic.twitter.com/SSguAmTFZD
— M.❤ (@amykaellasc) November 2, 2022
The mobilization was particularly important in Santa Catarina state, where the far-right incumbent achieved his best result (nearly 70% of the vote). Some protesters also said they would not recognize the election result, calling it “fraudulent”. Attacks echoing the defeat speech delivered by Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday November 1st.
Roadblocks remain in place across the country
As of early Wednesday afternoon, no violence had been reported in the country, which was celebrating a public holiday. But half of the states in the country were still reporting blockages on some of their freeways. The day after the presidential election, Bolsonaro supporters, unhappy with the outcome of the election, organized roadblocks.
However, the number of roadblocks fell by almost half on Wednesday. According to the Federal Road Police (PRF), around 150 roadblocks were registered, compared to 271 the previous day. In total, these blockades affected fifteen states in the country, down from almost all on Tuesday.
According to the PRF, quoted by Brazilian daily Globo on its website (article in Portuguese), more than 2,000 motorists have already been fined for blocking roads across Brazil. In some places, police had to use water cannons and stun grenades to clear major thoroughfares, the newspaper said.