Brazil in transition

Brazil is in the middle of a delicate transition period between a far-right president bent on wearing down institutions and a politician who won elections promising to restore eroded democracy.

A month after the elections, President Jair Bolsonaro has still not openly admitted defeat or congratulated the victor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The inauguration is scheduled for January 1.

The leftist will return to power as the leader of an alliance that spans from the ultra-left to the center-right, exactly 20 years after he became the first worker at the head of state.

Bolsonaro, who lost by two million votes (1.8 points), has been cloistered in his residence for most of this time and plunged into silence, which he did not even break last Saturday when he reappeared at an official act at the military academy where It was formed during the dictatorship.

After this image of apparent paralysis, the outgoing president has questioned the official result in two ways, recognized by most leaders around the world.

He encouraged the coup protests of his most radical followers, ignoring that they are calling for a coup to prevent the winner of fair elections from assuming power.

The other way was to challenge the result before the Superior Electoral Tribunal.

The appeal had no legal basis, according to the judge, who accused him of litigating in bad faith and imposed a million-dollar fine on his party, the Liberal Party.

The good news is that, despite these Bolsonaro maneuvers to delegitimize the result, the transfer of power between the Lula and Bolsonaro teams proceeds normally through legal channels.

But the attitude of the still president gives wings to sometimes radical mobilizations.

The coup protests in several cities and the violent roadblocks in the agricultural heart of the country are an affront to the popular will expressed in electronic ballot boxes and contribute to a difficult political environment in a country that, as the elections showed, is divided into two halves.

No one expects the president to admit his defeat orally anymore.

It is also a mystery if Bolsonaro will comply with the protocol and place the presidential sash on his successor.

But, for the good of the country, he should abandon his current strategy, stop sowing chaos, encourage his faithful to withdraw and prepare to exercise opposition from January 1 when, in addition, he will dominate the country. Congress.

Unfortunately, his track record of the past three decades in politics leaves no room for optimism.

Lula's seniority and mettle in the face of the irresponsible attitude of his rival are an asset in the face of this latent conflict that should be buried as soon as possible.