At least 10 people were injured when a driver plowed through a barricade of supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro who were blocking a road in Sao Paulo.
According to military police quoted by local press, two of the 10 injured in the accident were youths aged 11 and 12 and three police officers. Two were transferred to the Hospital D floor in Rio Preto.
Then some of the protestors tried to attack the car driver. The driver was arrested and taken to the police station.
The demonstrations, a public holiday in Brazil today, followed massive protests by truck drivers aligned with Bolsonaro who have blocked about 600 highways across the country since Monday to protest Lula’s victory.
Today, roadblocks remain at about 150 points in 15 of the nation’s 27 states, according to the Highway Patrol.
In some places, such as the São Paulo city of Paruri, roads were cleared by the determined intervention of the police, who dispersed the truck drivers with tear gas, but without any clashes or casualties.
The truck drivers’ protest began to lose intensity after Bolsonaro conceded defeat and decided that the government would start the transition process with Lula’s team scheduled for Thursday.
Bolsonaro issued a statement on Tuesday’s election results, about 45 hours after official tallies condemned the progressive leader’s victory.
In a brief speech, he said the protests were the result of anger and a sense of injustice at the way the electoral process was conducted.
He said that “peaceful demonstrations” were “welcome” but stressed that his methods “cannot be left-wing, it always harms people”, and stressed that no one can prevent “the right to come and go”.
Bolsonaro remained calm during the demonstrations outside the barracks, announcing that, like Lula, the president-elect would spend “two or three days” on a beach in the country’s northeast to relax after a grueling election campaign.