F1’s Penultimate Race Will Happen Despite Brazil Protests
Public unrest started to spread throughout the country following Sunday’s election.
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Formula One confirmed to Sports Illustrated on Wednesday that the São Paulo Grand Prix will happen as planned, as post-election protests take place across Brazil.
Sunday’s election saw former leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva narrowly beat outgoing president Jair Bolsonaro, who has has yet to explicitly concede defeat, and the results have sparked protests across the country. On Monday, truckers who support Bolsonaro blocked roadways across the country, and per Reuters, video showed them calling for a military coup.
Protests had spread to São Paulo, among other cities.
Bolsonaro gave a brief speech on Tuesday and notably did not contest the election results. His chief of staff, Ciro Nogueira, spoke soon after him, saying, “President Jair Messias Bolsonaro authorized me, when it is time, based on the law, to start the transition process.” Following the speech, Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court emphasized the weight of “President of the Republic’s speech in guaranteeing the right to come and go in relation to blockades, and, when determining the beginning of the transition, in recognizing the result of the elections.”
As the protests occurred, speculation arose on social media about whether F1’s penultimate race would happen with the sport heading to Interlagos next week. Dozens of flights had been canceled in the city amid the unrest with crews being unable to reach the airport.
However, the situation has started to improve since Monday’s trucker protests.
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