The still president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, returned on Wednesday to the Planalto Palace after 19 days in seclusion in the official residence, the Alvorada Palace, from whose premises he had not left almost since he learned that he had lost the October 30 elections to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro had not frequented the Executive Power headquarters since last November 3, when he had a brief meeting behind closed doors with the vice-president-elect, Geraldo Alckmin, who had gone there to begin the procedures for the imminent transition of power.
The last appointment in his official agenda as president at the Planalto Palace dates from October 31, when he had a meeting with the outgoing Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes. This Wednesday he has scheduled a visit from the former Minister of Regional Development and current senator-elect, Rogério Marinho.
Distressed and disappointed, as admitted by his associates, after knowing he had lost, Bolsonaro has used the official residence as a base of operations, receiving the visit of ministers and allies, while exonerating him for having disappeared due to a leg infection that prevented him from wearing long pants.
From there, on November 1, he called a press conference to pronounce himself on the elections, but not to acknowledge his defeat, or this Tuesday to meet with the leader of the Liberal Party (PL), Valdemar Costa Neto, in relation to the audit with which they intend to question the election results.
According to the PL, more than 279,300 of the 577,000 electronic ballot boxes used in these elections «presented chronic problems» in their operation. However, as recognized by Bolsonaro’s own associates, this audit is just another way of pressuring the electoral authorities and transferring the pressure to the streets, where anti-democratic protests continue to take place.
