Brazil: Lula fears “trouble” if he wins over Bolsonaro in the presidential election – 20 Minutes

Former left-wing Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday that he feared “trouble” if he won over outgoing head of state Jair Bolsonaro in the presidential election, the first round of which takes place on Sunday. Favorite in the polls, Lula, 76, is seeking a third term, after having governed the country from 2003 to 2010. At the time, he was elected by beating representatives of the PSDB, a center-right party, in the second round. “With the PSDB, we played politics. When they won they celebrated and when they lost they let the winners celebrate. Bolsonaro does not behave like that, and he can try to stir up trouble during the transition “before the inauguration of the elected president, Lula said at a press conference in Rio de Janeiro (southeast). “It will be much more difficult than in 2002” He relies on an intense campaign centered on the “useful vote” to win in the first round. If he does not succeed, the second round will take place on October 30. In the event of victory, he will have to wait until January 1 to take office, during the investiture in Brasilia. “It will be much more difficult than in 2002 (during his first presidential victory), when we had experienced an extraordinary, peaceful transition with the PSDB. I fear that we do not have the same facility with Bolsonaro, ”insisted Lula. Experts fear violent incidents, like the assault on Capitol Hill Jair Bolsonaro has multiplied attacks against the electronic ballot box system in force in Brazil since 1996, with which he was however elected several times deputy, then president hands down in 2018. He notably mentioned “fraud” – without ever providing proof -, fueling fears that he does not recognize the result in case of defeat. “The results of the ballot boxes will be respected provided that the elections are clean and transparent,” the far-right president declared during his campaign. fear violent incidents, such as the invasion of the Capitol in Washington after Donald Trump’s defeat in the US presidential election in January 2021.