Brazil’s far-right president draws concern

SAO PAULO — In some of his first words to the nation as presidentelect, far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro has promised to defend the constitution and unite a bitterly divided populace.

His left-leaning rival immediately vowed to mount a vigorous opposition, while rights groups warned against a rollback of civil liberties.

That juxtaposition underscored that the end of the election was not the end of acrimony and that myriad challenges lay ahead for Latin America’s largest nation.

Bolsonaro appeared to try to allay those concerns 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, and 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, reading off a sheet of paper during a live television address.

But in a sign of the challenges ahead, the hashtag Ele Nao E Meu Presidente — He Is Not My President in Portuguese — was the top trending topic on Twitter in Brazil on Monday morning.

Bolsonaro’s 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, Bolsonaro built his popularity on a mixture of often outrageous or offensive comments and hardline positions.