Bolsonaro appears dead and injured in an attack on schools in Brazil for the first time since the election defeat on an official date

Together with Vice President Hamilton Mourao and Defense Minister Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, two generals, Bolsonaro attended a ceremony at the military academy in Resende on Saturday (local time). His presence gave the event “a lot of sparkle,” army commander Marco Antônio Freire said in front of nearly 400 officer candidates.

Since his election defeat, Bolsonaro has disappeared. He is confined to his residence most of the time, creating a disturbing atmosphere of power vacuum in the country. The former head of state leaves traditional tasks, such as accepting the credentials of new ambassadors, to his vice president. The president of Latin America’s largest economy, in office until January 1, has not even appeared at high-level international meetings such as the G20 summit or the UN climate conference.

His official calendar of appointments is almost empty – except for short sporadic meetings, almost all of which take place at his official residence and not the presidential office. It has also been unusually quiet on his otherwise well-used online media accounts for nearly a month now. Statements from his advisers about Bolsonaro’s absence range from alleged “sadness” over his election defeat to a bacterial skin infection on one of his legs.

Bolsonaro narrowly lost the election four weeks ago to the left-wing ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. After the election, he initially did not comment on his defeat. Only two days later did the far-right politician express his willingness for a peaceful transfer of power to election winner Lula – without explicitly admitting his defeat.

This week, Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party (PL) filed a complaint against the election results, asking the Supreme Court to void all votes cast by more than 280,000 voting machines. However, the Supreme Court rejected the complaint and imposed a heavy fine on the PL.

However, in several cities, Bolsonaro’s supporters continue to protest in front of military barracks, calling on the military to intervene to prevent Lula from taking office. According to local media, Bolsonaro greeted some of these demonstrators in front of the military academy in Resende on Saturday. Rumors are already circulating that Bolsonaro plans to travel abroad on inauguration day on January 1 to avoid handing Lula the presidential sash. (sda/afp)