‘It’s over’: Jair Bolsonaro has reportedly accepted defeat in Brazil’s election Brazil

After losing Brazil’s presidential election on Sunday, Jair Bolsonaro reportedly lashed out at members of the Supreme Court, saying he was “over it”.

He remained silent for two days after the leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was beaten in the election. When Bolsonaro finally appeared before the cameras on Tuesday afternoon, he was unable to openly admit defeat or congratulate the winner.

But shortly after that was revealed, he headed to the Supreme Court and met with the seven judges, including Edson Facchi, who told reporters that Bolsonaro understood the writing was on the wall.

“The president has used the verb ‘to finish’ in the past,” Fachin said. “He said, ‘It’s over.’ Therefore [one must] Look ahead.”

Bolsonaro’s vice president, Hamilton Maurao, made it clear in an interview with newspaper O Globo that he accepted the defeat. “There’s no point in crying anymore, we lost the game,” he said.

Morao blocked roads to call for a military coup against pro-Bolsonaro protests, causing traffic chaos in cities including Rio and Sao Paulo. “There are 58 million people who are not happy,” Morao said of Bolsonaro’s voters. But they agreed to participate in the game. So now they have to calm down.

Bolsonaro appeared to send a different message in his deliberately ambiguous two-minute address on Tuesday. In it, the right-wing populist called the demonstrations “the fruit of anger and injustice at how the electoral process was conducted.” “Peaceful demonstrations are always welcomed,” Bolsonaro said, though vandalism was not acceptable.

Some hardcore fans reportedly took those words as a call to stay on the streets. But the protests appeared to be easing by Wednesday morning, with the Federal Highway Police saying there were 167 roadblocks, down from 563 on Monday.

Lula won Brazil’s most important election for decades by a 2.1m margin – 50.9% to 49.1% – and quickly gained international recognition after four years of Brazil being a pariah under Bolsonaro.

It is reported that US Vice President Kamala Harris is planning to attend the inauguration ceremony on January 1 in the capital, Brasilia Lula.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: “Congratulations… I look forward to working together on issues that concern the UK and Brazil, from growing the global economy to protecting the planet’s natural resources and promoting democratic values.”