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The team of the president-elect of Brazil, Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva, arrived in Brasilia this Thursday, November 3, to meet with representatives of outgoing president Jair Bolsonaro in order to begin the transition of government. Although the head of state has not openly acknowledged his defeat in the elections on October 30, he urged his supporters to lift the roadblocks that have affected much of the country in recent days.
Blockades on Brazil’s highways begin to lift four days after the closest presidential election in the country’s history.
This is what President Jair Bolsonaro asked his supporters for, who has not welcomed the victory of Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva in the presidential elections held on October 30.
Although some demonstrations continue, the protests decrease and the roadblocks lose strength, at a time when the official transition of the Government begins.
This Thursday, November 3, the first formal meetings between representatives of Bolsonaro and officials of the incoming Administration, which will assume power on January 1, take place.
With this objective, ‘Lula’s’ team arrived in Brasilia in the last few hours. Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin, in charge of coordinating the transition with the incoming Administration, arrived at Congress accompanied by the campaign coordinator of the new Administration and several legislators from the leftist Workers’ Party (PT).
The meetings this Thursday begin the process that will culminate in the inauguration of ‘Lula’, but they also seek to guarantee governability with a potentially controversial Legislature and ensure that the Bolsonaro Administration will cooperate in the transition.
Bolsonaro has not explicitly acknowledged his electoral setback. However, last Tuesday, November 1, he broke his two-day silence and assured that he will respect the Constitution.
Later the outgoing chief of staff said he had received authorization to begin the change of command.
Meetings around the budget, at the forefront of the transition agenda
One of the first meetings took place with Senator Marcelo Castro, of the Brazilian Democratic Movement, responsible for the budget proposal for 2023.
Congress has until December 17 to approve a spending bill for next year with contributions from the new Administration.
“We have a tight schedule and it’s complicated (…) It’s easier if the new government proposes something,” Castro assured the local press before the meeting with Alckmin.
The budget issue is one of the priorities and challenges that the new leftist government will have to address.
The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira, an ally of Bolsonaro, is the one who supervises the so-called “secret budget”, a mechanism created during the outgoing Administration that allows Congress and the Executive to avoid a budget ceiling. He thus allocates billions to finance the projects of legislators.
That measure was harshly criticized by ‘Lula’ during his campaign, as he claimed that it depleted funds for key social needs and promised to put an end to it.
This scenario, added to the results of the October 2 elections, in which the conservative legislators allied with Bolsonaro emerged stronger, sows doubts about the room for maneuver that ‘Lula’ will have to govern. The new president is expected to face stiff opposition.
For now, the vice president-elect also plans to meet on November 3 with Bolsonaro’s chief of staff, Ciro Nogueira, and visit the federal accounting control body.
Protests dissipate with calls for “federal intervention”
By Thursday morning, more than 850 protests had broken up. Protesters maintained roadblocks, either partially or fully, in 76 places, in eight of the 26 states that make up the country.
A notable decrease, compared to the 126 cuts in roads that were previously registered, according to data from the Federal Highway Police, in charge of protecting land routes.
Of the 13 complete blockades, most were in the southern state of Santa Catarina, authorities added.
The decline in mobilizations took place after Bolsonaro addressed his supporters.
“I already know that you are upset. I am as sad and upset as you are, but we have to keep a cool head (…) The closure of roads in Brazil endangers the right of people to come and go,” said the still president.
In the closest presidential elections since the return to democracy in Brazil, in 1985, ‘Lula’ beat Bolsonaro by around two million votes.
With Reuters, AFP and AP
