WATCH: Heartbreaking moment at Bolsonaro rally as term draws to close
Supporters of Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro Sunday experienced an emotional moment during a rally outside Alvorada Palace when Bolsonaro and a young child wept and embraced. Large crowds had gathered to see Bolsonaro, who was giving his first public appearance since being declared the loser of October’s presidential election.
A young child sitting in the first row appeared to be filming Bolsonaro with a smartphone and sobbing uncontrollably. One of Bolsonaro’s aides, ostensibly at the president’s request, waded into the small pond separating Bolsonaro from the crowds and carried the girl to the other side. She threw her arms around Bolsonaro’s neck and appeared to be telling him something. The two separated and Bolsonaro wiped his eyes before taking the child by the hand and walking with her along the length of the pond before the crowds.
The moving episode captured the feeling of many Bolsonaro supporters who prepare to say goodbye to their president as the election results become certified Monday. Bolsonaro won the hearts of many Brazilians throughout his three-year term due to his policies, which included his refusal to impose COVID-19 mandates or seize ownership of medical science.
At the same time, Bolsonaro’s supporters continue to protest what they maintain was a fraudulent election. The election’s declared winner, ex-convict Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has already pledged to implement Left-wing initiatives such as forcing those who questioned the COVID-19 shots to apologize or be accused of murder.
Lula beat Bolsonaro by a razor-thin margin (50.7%), the narrowest margin in the history of Brazil’s presidential elections. Many Brazilians are contesting the legitimacy of the election, citing independent analyses by the electoral authorities which found that machines that were not audited had a statistically significant difference (p=10-18) in voting outcome in favor of Lula, amounting conservatively in the 1st round to 2.4% of the votes transferred and, in the 2nd round, 3.3%.
Protests erupted across the country following the results, with hundreds of thousands of Brazilian citizens blocking roads and even surrounding army barracks as they demand military intervention in election fraud. Law enforcement personnel reportedly joined in the protests. On Proclamation of the Republic Day on November 15th, three million Brazilians took to the streets in the capital of Brasilía alone.
The government has so far been unable to quash the protests—which have now surpassed the 40-day mark—despite fines, imprisonment, and an order from a top minister last month allowing the state to seize the children of election protesters.
Last week, Brazil’s indigenous tribes joined the fray and protested in front of the Planalto Palace in Brasilía. Footage circulating on social networks show demonstrators from the Xavante, Enawene Nawe (Mato Grosso) and Kaiapó (Pará) tribes uttering insults against the president-elect.
Bolsonaro, who had neither conceded nor commented on the election since the results were announced, broke his silence Sunday and addressed his purported loss for the first time.
“40 days of silence pained me in my soul,” he told supporters. “I’ve never seen people take to the streets, demanding that a president stay. Usually, they want him to leave. I’ve never seen anything like this!”
“Nothing is lost yet,” he added. “I believe that victory will come, within the law and the Constitution. I will give my life for my country! Let’s dedicate ourselves, unite and seek a way out. Let us each do what we can to save our country! Onward to victory!
“Protesting is a democratic right! You are the citizens of this country! No more being treated the way they have been treating you!”
Bolsonaro also cryptically invoked the Armed Forces, triggering much speculation.
“I am the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces are the last bastion against communism. They are loyal to the Brazilian people. Their duty is to defend our freedom.”
The president invoked the Armed Forces a second time as he paraphrased John F. Kennedy, Jr.
“So do not ask what I can do for you, but what you can do for your country. It is you, the people, who will decide my future and what the Armed Forces will do.
“I can only be happy if you are. I will do what I can. But I can’t authorize anything by myself. This isn’t a decision for only one person alone.”
The Gateway Pundit reports that Chief Raimundo Guajajara of the Munduruku imparted a strong message to Bolsonaro outside the palace:
For 39 days, we have been braving sun and rain, because we believe in you. End our agony. We brought our demands to all levels of Power (Senate and Congress) but they are all corrupt, just like (Senate President Rodrigo) Pacheco and Egg Head (Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes). End our agony by making use of your pen.
If you do not do this, you will hear that we are going to take Brazil.
