Bolsonaro broke the silence – but what does he mean?

“I kept silent for 40 days,” he told his supporters at the Alvorada Palace, the presidential residence where he has been hiding since the elections at the end of October.

– It hurts, it hurts the soul.

He was speaking to a smaller crowd gathered for Brazil’s World Cup quarter-final loss to Croatia. So the mood was somber, and some people exclaimed, “I agree,” O Globo newspaper reports. The phrase refers to the military intervention demanded by some of the president’s far-right supporters after losing the election.

Bolsonaro himself is an ex-military, and he expressed himself with nostalgia for the era of the country’s military dictatorship. Some of his constituents believe losing the election is unfair, and therefore want the military to stop the transfer of power to new President Lula da Silva, which will take place at the turn of the year.

However, no one has presented any evidence of significant electoral fraud.

Thus, the outgoing president himself is not clear about what he believes, but still indicates that he sees himself defeated.

– If something went wrong, it was because I lost my progress. He said that I take responsibility for my mistakes.

– But please: don’t criticize if you’re not quite sure what’s going on.

Preparations for a change of power are in full swing. On Friday, Lula presented whoever wanted several important ministerial positions. But the actual transfer of power will only take place in a ceremony on January 1.