MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian President makes first public appearance in almost two months

“Everything will work out at the right time,” Bolsonaro told his followers

In one of his first appearances after losing the Oct. 30 runoff, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro Friday praised the Armed Forces Friday and called on his fellow countrypeople to stand together against President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whom he never congratulated on his win.

Bolsonaro, who has never said a word about his defeat, did admit Friday to having made several mistakes, although he did not specify which ones. He also asked his followers not to criticize him “without knowing everything that is happening.”

“It is not easy to confront the whole system. The mission is not to criticize, it is to unite and many times there is information that is not appropriate,” said Bolsonaro, who insisted on the need for people to be more patriotic and God-fearing.

“Today we are living in a crucial moment, at a crossroads. You are the ones who decide my future, you are the ones who decide where the Armed Forces will go, you are the ones who decide where the House and Senate will go,” Bolsonaro told hundreds of his followers in Brasilia.

Bolsonaro insisted Friday on the Armed Forces' role as “the last obstacle to socialism.” He also said he was on the “side of truth, honesty, respect for the family, and freedom of expression and religion.”

“Brazil does not need more laws, it needs laws to be effectively enforced,” he also said while his followers asked him to “stay” as president beyond Jan. 1

The incumbent head of state also regretted that “Brazil was ready to leap” and stressed that Lula's victory was not to be expected “under normal conditions.”

Bolsonaro also celebrated his supporters' taking to the streets after the elections, some of them even calling for a military coup d'état. ”Nothing is lost. I owe loyalty to you. I give my life for my homeland (...) We can change the future of our nation,“ said Bolsonaro. ”Let's believe, let's unite, let's look for alternatives, and let everyone see what they can do for our homeland,“ he added.

”I believe in you, we are going to believe in our country. God willing, everything will work out at the right time,” he went on.