Brazil roadblocks grow weary as pro-Bolsonaro rallies lose momentum

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Roadblocks in Brazil that were set up by supporters of Jair Bolsonaro who were despondent over his electoral defeat are beginning to lose steam as police authorities clear out the remaining blocks, Brazil's police said on Friday.

As soon as the election results were announced, Bolsonaro supporters took to the streets to protest Lula's victory, with over 100 protests reported on October 31, which blocked major roads and highways in 18 different states. 

So far, "all federal highways are now free of roadblocks," with over 960 roadblocks broken up - to the exception of five partial closures that don't fully obstruct traffic remain in two states, according to the federal highway police.

The blocks have visibly diminished since Bolsonaro called on his supporters to "unblock the roads" on Wednesday. He did however raise concerns of political turmoil by encouraging his supporter base of taking part in a "legitimate demonstration."

The number of protesters who had also gathered near military facilities, urging the military to keep Bolsonaro in power, has also decreased, with only 300 remaining in Sao Paulo, 100 in Brasilia, and all had cleared out in Rio de Janeiro.

When Bolsonaro broke his two-day silence after the election results, neither did he congratulate Lula on his victory nor did he say he recognized the electoral results. 

But after prompt recognition of the results by his allies, Bolsonaro vowed on Tuesday that he would stick to the constitution and allow the transition process for the political handover. 

On Thursday, Bolsonaro met with vice president-elect Geraldo Alckmin, who reported that the meeting was "positive" and that the former President had promised "all information and assistance needed for a smooth transition."

Since the start of the electoral campaigns, several cases of violence have been reported among Lula vs. Bolsonaro supporters. 

Most recent updates on the matter reveal that a 12-year-old girl who was shot at a Lula victory party in the city of Belo Horizonte succumbed on Thursday to her injuries.

In one the most important elections in Brazil's history, Bolsonaro lost the Presidential runoff securing 49.1% of the votes to Lula da Silva who won the majority by 50.9%.

Earlier, it was reported that Bolsonaro was seen leaving the Supreme Federal Court without making any statements to reporters.

Some sources close to Brazilian government circles report that Bolsonaro would have gone to the Federal Supreme Court before which he would have presented evidence of electoral fraud.

The Brazilian President would have given an ultimatum to the judges for 72 hours, after which the perpetrators of the fraud will all be arrested if the elections are not canceled.

Bolsonaro leaves the Supreme Federal Court without commenting to journalists.👍👌🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/jZSsDWa7ns

— 🅲🅾️🅵🅵🅴🅴 🆃🅸🅼🅴… (@Globalchange10) November 5, 2022

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