Bala Chambers
04 November 2022•Update: 05 November 2022
BUENOS AIRES
The first Brazilian transitional meeting took place Thursday between the incoming and outgoing governments in the nation’s capital of Brasilia.
The meeting at the Planalto presidential palace occurred between officials from President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's side and incumbent Jair Bolsonaro's team.
Vice president-elect Geraldo Alckmin has been charged with overseeing the transition with Bolsonaro's Cabinet chief Ciro Nogueira, alongside several officials.
Alckmin told reporters that the meeting went well. "The conversation was very fruitful, very objective. The transition has already started," he said.
Brazilian law allows the president-elect to name up to 50 people as part of his transitional team, according to the G1 news outlet.
Alckmin did not disclose the names of individuals on the team but insisted that they would be from parties that make up Lula's coalition.
Following the tight presidential runoff on Sunday, Lula is resting in the north of Brazil alongside his wife in Bahia but is expected to participate in several meetings Monday to drive the transition forward, according to the Metropoles newspaper.
Alckmin also denounced blockades on roads by Bolsonaro supporters, noting the effect on health care supplies.
Bolsonaro urged supporters Wednesday to clear the blockades in a video posted on social media. Earlier in the day, his supporters staged demonstrations across the country calling for the army’s intervention after Lula's win.
Bolsonaro gave a guarded speech Tuesday without directly conceding defeat, insisting that "as president of the Republic and a citizen, I will continue upholding all the mandates of our Constitution."
Right after, however, his chief of staff acknowledged that there would be a transition ahead of Lula assuming the presidency on Jan. 1.
Supreme Court Justice Luiz Edson Fachin said later Tuesday that Bolsonaro acknowledged that the election was "over" during a private meeting.
