Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1483181
14 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 2 NOVEMBER 2022 WORLD Brazil anxiously waits for Bolsonaro's next move after choosing Lula IT'S a tense wait in Brazil as incum- bent president Jair Bolsonaro has failed to appear in public after Sun- day's narrow election defeat to left- wing rival, Lula. Bolsonaro has neither conceded de- feat, nor contested the election result that saw Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, make an impressive comeback. With all the votes counted, Lu- la won the presidential runoff with 50.9% of valid votes against Bolson- aro's 49.1%. There are concerns that the outgo- ing president could complicate the two-month transition period before Lula, a former president, is due to be sworn in on 1 January 2023. Lorry drivers in Brazil loyal to Bol- sonaro blocked roads across the country on Monday, after his poll defeat. Blockages were reported in all but two states, causing considerable dis- ruption and affecting food supply chains. Pro-Bolsonaro lorry drivers started setting up roadblocks across the vast country soon after the election re- sults were announced. By Monday night, the federal high- way police reported 342 such inci- dents, with the biggest protests going on in the country's south. Some of the blockages were later cleared by police. Many lorry drivers have benefited from lower diesel costs during the Bolsonaro administration. Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes on Monday ordered the po- lice to disperse the roadblocks imme- diately. He warned that all those still block- ing the roads on Tuesday would each be fined 100,000 Brazilian reals (€19,500) per hour. Bolsonaro, 67, is said to have gone to sleep after he narrowly lost to his arch rival. Combative statements from Bol- sonaro in the past - such as that "only God" could remove him from office - mean there is a tense wait for him to appear in public. Before the election, he had repeatedly cast unfounded doubts on the voting system. In his victory speech, soon after the results were made public, Lula, 77, touched on the political rift running through Brazil which further deep- ened during a bitterly fought and of- ten acrimonious election campaign. "This country needs peace and uni- ty. This population doesn't want to fight anymore," he said, promising to govern for all Brazilians and not just for those who had voted for him. This was a stunning comeback for Lula, a politician who could not run in the last presidential election in 2018 because he was in jail and banned from standing for office. President-elect Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, celebrating his victory Incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro