Bolsonaro accepts his defeat without formally conceding


Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has appeared to recognize his defeat in the election against President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as Lula, reports The Associated Press. He reportedly told the Brazil Supreme Court that the election was over saying he has "always played within the four lines of the constitution," but stopped short of actually conceding.
The announcement comes two days following Bolsonaro's loss to Lula after publicly casting doubt on the validity of the election throughout his campaign. Many of his supporters blocked roads all over the country in protest, disrupting food supply chains, BBC reports.
His campaign rhetoric led many to believe that he would not accept the results of the election, however, despite not formally conceding, Bolsonaro began the process of transitioning power, giving his chief of staff Ciro Nogueira authorization to take the necessary steps, The Washington Post reports. Lula also tweeted, "I am sure we will have an excellent transition," after speaking with the current president.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This election was the tightest in Brazil since 1985 with Lula winning by a margin of 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent, AP continues. It was also the first time in the country's 34 years of democracy that an incumbent president did not win a second term.
Lula's victory is also a transition from a far-right government to a leftist one, marking a huge change in Brazilian politics. In his victory speech he promised he would "govern for 215 million Brazilians, and not just for those who voted for me."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from