Brazil’s president-elect, the far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro, has promised to defend the country’s constitution and unite a bitterly divided electorate.
His left-wing rival meanwhile has vowed to mount a vigorous opposition and rights groups have warned against a rollback of civil liberties. The two perspectives underscore the reality that the end of the election was not the end of acrimony and that myriad challenges lay ahead for Latin America’s largest nation.
This country belongs to all of us, Brazilians by birth or by heart, a Brazil of diverse opinions, colours and orientations. Mr Bolsonaro appeared to try to allay those concerns on Sunday night, saying he would “pacify” Brazil following a race that revealed deep divisions and was repeatedly marred by violence.
The candidate himself was stabbed and almost died while campaigning in early September, while there were numerous reports of politically motivated violence, especially directed at gay people.
“This country belongs to all of us, Brazilians by birth or by heart, a Brazil of diverse opinions, colours and orientations,” he said in some of his first words to the nation.
His victory moved Brazil, the world’s fourth-largest democracy, sharply to the right after four consecutive elections in which candidates from the left-leaning Workers’ Party won. Like other right-leaning leaders who have risen to power around the globe, Mr Bolsonaro built his popularity on a mixture of tough talk and hardline positions.
And, like many, he is sure to face stiff resistance from groups concerned that his strong views will lead to policies that threaten democratic institutions. Mr Bolsonaro spent much of the campaign exploiting divisions, taking to Twitter to lambaste the rival Workers’ Party as unethical and dangerous.
In recent weeks, Brazilians were bombarded with WhatsApp messages that condemned Workers’ Party candidate Fernando Haddad, often making outrageous claims. Ultimately, Mr Bolsonaro’s messages resonated with Brazilians hungry for change.
He received just over 55% of the votes on Sunday, compared to right under 45% for Mr Haddad. The runner-up promised a fight while saying he would respect the country’s institutions. “We have the responsibility to mount an opposition, putting national interests, the interests of the entire Brazilian people, above ever
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