Brazil’s outgoing president, Jair Bolsonaro, who lost the election to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has not yet conceded defeat, spurring his supporters to mount protests against the outcome.
Truckers escalated their protests on Monday, blocking roads throughout the country in actions that could affect exports in one of the world’s top food producers and cause wider economic chaos.
He will not publicly address his defeat until Tuesday, a cabinet minister said on Monday evening, amid doubts over whether the far-right nationalist will accept Lula’s victory.
Similar to the events of January 6, 2020, when Donald Trump refused to concede the US election, some truckers at roadblocks were calling for a military coup to prevent Lula becoming president. Video footage showed that protests spread from Mato Grosso and Santa Catarina to Parana, Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Goias and Bahia.
In Brasilia, police shut off traffic access to the central government esplanade on a tip that Bolsonaro supporters were planning to occupy the square in front of the Supreme Court, which they consider has acted to favor Lula.
