Bolsonaro speaks for the first time since his defeat against Lula, but does not give him victory

(CNN Spanish) –– Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro finally spoke in public two days after his defeat Luis Inacio Lula da Silva in the second round of the presidential election. In his message, which lasted only a few minutes, he said he would continue to uphold the country’s constitution, but did not directly concede victory.

“As long as I am the head of the republic and a citizen, I will continue to carry out all the mandates of our constitution,” Bolsonaro said, not congratulating Lula da Silva, who won with 50.9% of the vote to her 49.1%. The current president.. to be fair, Bolsonaro’s long silence stoked fears That he would not cooperate with the transfer of power.

According to the final tally of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court, the president-elect received the highest number of votes in Brazilian history: more than 60 million votes.

Speaking from the Alvorada Palace, the official residence of the president, Bolsonaro addressed his opponents: “I have always been labeled anti-democratic, but contrary to what my accusers say, I have always played within the limits of the constitution. The media or social networks were censored.”

Bolsonaro’s message also calmed his supporters, who have wreaked havoc on the country’s highways since Sunday in a bid to reject Lula da Silva’s victory amid protests. The current president said, “The current popular movements are the result of anger and injustice at how the electoral process was carried out.”

And he added: “Peaceful protests are always welcome. But the methods of the Left, which always harm people like property occupation, destruction of heritage, restriction of freedom of movement, cannot be ours.”

Now, Bolsonaro’s statements come after his key allies, such as Vice President Hamilton Mourau, Chief of Staff Ciro Nogueira and Congress President Arthur Lira, have endorsed the election results.

In fact, Nogueira said in an announcement on Tuesday that he would work with the new government to begin the transition. He also referred to Lula as “the president-elect”.

Bolsonaro concluded his speech by saying, “It is an honor to be the leader of millions of Brazilians who, like me, defend economic freedom, religious freedom, freedom of expression, honesty and the green and yellow colors of our flag.”

Bolsonaro supporters continue to block the road

Protesters are currently blocking roads at 267 points in the country, according to Brazil’s highway police, and have faced criticism within the country for the speed of its response.

Videos circulating on social media in Brazil show highway police telling protesters they will not disrupt or stop their protests.

In a press conference on Tuesday morning, the executive director of the highway police, Marco Antonio de Barros, defended his agency’s actions, saying that cleaning the roads was a “complex operation”.

“Groups of protestors of up to 500 people, children on their laps, elderly people participate. So the agency should be very cautious,” he said.

Wendell Matos, inspector general of the highway police, said the agency does not support protests or blockades of federal highways. He also mentioned that ethical violations are being investigated. “Sometimes two or three officers speak or act against our orders. We are investigating whether there was any malpractice by those officials,” Matos said.

His statements came after Supreme Court judges ordered the deployment of the state military police on Tuesday morning to break the blockades that disrupted supply chains and caused delays at the airports on Monday.

With reporting by Camilo Rocha, Rodrigo Pedroso, Jorge Engels and Hira Humayunde from CNN.