Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro broke his silence on Friday for the first time since his election defeat on October 30 and spoke to supporters calling for a military coup to stop leftist President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office.
Bolsonaro said he had kept silent for almost 40 days, adding, "it hurts my soul."
"Who decides where I go are you? Who decides which way the armed forces go are you," Bolsonaro told his supporters at the gates of the presidential residence.
In his ambiguous comments, Bolsonaro did not endorse their call for military intervention, but said the armed forces would respect Brazil's Constitution.
He has not recognized Lula's victory in the October elections and his silence encouraged supporters to continue demonstrations outside army bases.