Bolsonaro’s rival, former president and leftist ex-union leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, won Sunday night’s runoff with 50.9 percent of the vote, to Bolsonaro’s 49.1 percent. It was the closest election since Brazil’s return to democracy in 1985. Ricardo Barros, Bolsonaro’s lower house whip, told The Associated Press by phone that he was with the president on Monday and that Bolsonaro is “still deciding” whether to talk about the election results. Like former US President Donald Trump, whom Bolsonaro admires, Brazil’s outgoing leader has repeatedly questioned the reliability of the country’s electronic voting system. At one point he said he had evidence of fraud, although he did not provide evidence. And just last month, he remarked that if he didn’t win in the first round of the election, something was “off” — even though most polls showed him trailing. As time passes and a growing number of international leaders publicly acknowledge da Silva’s victory, the president’s margin for dissent is shrinking, experts told The Associated Press. Some of Bolsonaro’s closest allies reported as much. “The will of the majority shown on the ballots will never be questioned,” lower house speaker Arthur Lira told reporters on Sunday. Other Bolsonaro supporters who have publicly acknowledged da Silva’s victory include Sao Paulo governor-elect Tarquisio de Freitas and senator-elect Damares Alves, who both served as ministers under Bolsonaro, and lower house whip Barros. Evangelical pastor Silas Malafaia, who has been a staunch supporter of Bolsonaro, called on God to bestow his “blessing” on da Silva. “He must have a lot of plans on how to challenge the poll results. the question is whether he has the political support to go ahead with these plans,” said Paulo Calmon, professor of political science at the University of Brasilia. “He will not have the support of the governor of São Paulo, the Lower House, the Senate, and he will have to face opposition from all of them.” Calmon added that Bolsonaro had recently said during an interview last month that he would accept the result even if he lost, but that congratulating da Silva would hurt his popularity among his more radical base.
