Supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro demonstrate in front of the army headquarters in Brasilia on November 2, 2022 to demand federal intervention and the organization of new elections. SERGIO LIMA / AFP
Beth doesn’t take her eyes off Samira. Mother and daughter stand side by side in the huge hall of the Central do Brasil train station in central Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday morning, November 2nd. “She’s only 20 years old, this is her very first manifestation,” explains this moving and worried saleswoman, who traveled by train from distant Nova Iguaçu, a poor northern suburb of the “wonderful city,” to buy his announce unconditional support for “his” President Jair Bolsonaro.
Like the two women, tens of thousands dressed in green and gold jerseys gathered across Brazil on Wednesday to protest the results of October 30 elections, which saw the far-right head of state beaten in the election by former President Luiz Inacio da Silva, winner with 50.9% of the votes. An unacceptable result for these fanatical Bolsonarians who denounce voter fraud and believe that victory has been stolen from them.
Aerial view of the march of President Bolsonaro’s supporters in Sao Paulo, Brazil, November 2, 2022. Thousands of people gathered in front of army commandos in the country’s main cities to demand military intervention for the ensuing victory of Lula. MIGUEL SCHINCariol / AFP
In Rio de Janeiro, demonstrators came in large numbers, armed with Brazilian flags, braved the torrential rain and sacrificed a holiday (the Festival of the Dead) to make their voices heard. For them, the sense of injustice is mixed with urgency. “If Lula comes back, it’s over for Brazil and our freedoms! I’m here for my daughter’s future, I don’t want her to grow up in a communist dictatorship like Cuba or Venezuela,” Beth said.
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“Armed Forces, Save Brazil!” »
Rallies were organized in front of military installations everywhere: in Rio, the Duque de Caxias Palace, an intimidating 1940s Mussolino-Stalinist building, next to the Central do Brasil train station, houses the military command of the East. “We are calling for a “federal intervention”. That means we want the army to take power and organize new elections, clean ones! ‘, details the very determined Janderson, 50, with a lion tattoo on his bicep. Facing the building, the crowd raises their fists, sings the national anthem and chants at the top of their lungs: “Forces, save Brazil! »
Signs calling for federal intervention decorate processions of Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters across the country, as seen here outside the army headquarters in Brasilia on November 2, 2022. SERGIO LIMA / AFP
It doesn’t matter whether Jair Bolsonaro himself publicly admitted defeat the day before and initiated the transition process. Among the most outspoken Bolsonarists, no one believes in the sincerity of the outgoing president. Judges, parliamentarians and everything the “system” counts for would have twisted the head of state’s arm and forced him to say these reassuring words. The far-right propaganda portrays a cornered and besieged captain who needs his popular “army” more than ever to defend him. “We are ready for war,” proclaims a leaflet widely distributed on the Internet.
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