Judiciary articulates with Guedes and Tarcísio pressure for Bolsonaro to speak and contain blockades

Amid the series of road blocks in the country, members of the Judiciary are articulating a task force to convince Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to admit defeat in the election and, thus, help contain the protesters who support his government.

This Tuesday (1st), ministers Bruno Dantas, from the TCU (Union Court of Auditors), and Gilmar Mendes, from the Federal Supreme Court (STF), sought out other Supreme Court justices, the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP -AL), government ministers and presidents of centrist political parties to try to convince Bolsonaro to speak.

Paulo Guedes (Economy) and Tarcísio de Freitas, governor-elect in São Paulo and former Minister of Infrastructure, are in contact with members of the Judiciary.

In the midst of this articulation, the president committed himself to allies to make a statement this Tuesday afternoon. The expectation is that he will say that his political group does not harm other Brazilians, watches over order and has always criticized land invasions as a way of disengaging the movements that are on the street.

Interlocutors also say that the Chief Executive should place himself as the leader of the opposition to Lula, endorsed by 58 million votes. The president, however, can go back on his promise to speak.

The assessment is that the demonstrations have escalated so much that a statement by the president is essential to contain the movements of his supporters on the streets. Bolsonaro has been silent for about 40 hours since he lost the election.

The president also asked interlocutors to invite ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to a meeting at Palácio da Alvorada.

The magistrates, however, sent word that they will not meet with the president, much less at the president’s residential headquarters, until Bolsonaro publicly declares that he accepts the result of the election.

People close to Bolsonaro and other political actors, in turn, say that the chief executive must make a statement acknowledging defeat, even if he criticizes the judiciary.

Earlier, party leaders advocated that Lira go to the Planalto Palace alone or accompanied to persuade Bolsonaro to take a stand, even if not recognizing defeat, but asking protesters to leave the roads.

The president of the Chamber has already been with the representative, on Monday (31), for about half an hour at Alvorada.

While a wing around the president seeks to pressure him to admit defeat, another still questions the results of the polls.

Bolsonaro’s closest aides have privately cast doubt on the counting of votes. They also recognize that the blockades are worrying, but say they are justifiable, supporting the speech of the president’s supporters.

Bolsonaro’s allies say that the government is acting to minimize the blockade of highways, but they complain about the decision of Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), this Monday (30).

The magistrate ordered the Bolsonaro administration to immediately adopt “all necessary and sufficient measures” to clear the highways occupied by bolsonaristas in protest at the result of the elections.

The complaint of the president’s allies is that Moraes would have inflamed the protesters even more for being considered an executioner of Bolsonaro, therefore, supposedly without legitimacy for such a decision.

After the order of Moraes, this Tuesday, the Military Police of the states began to work to clear roads blocked by Bolsonarista protesters.

Until this Monday night, there were more than 300 roadblocks in 25 states and in the Federal District. The protesters protest against the result of the elections, which had Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) as the winner in the dispute for the Planalto.

A close ally, the campaign’s communication coordinator, Fabio Wajngarten, used his social networks this Tuesday to affirm that democracy and freedom are “[cláusulas] stony.” And he added that the moment is one of peace and serenity.

“My support and solidarity with President Jair Bolsonaro are unrestricted. Our campaign was clean, ethical, and within the four lines [da Constituição]. Democracy and freedom are stony. It is a time for peace, reflection and serenity,” she wrote.