Brazilian President and Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro won't publicly say he's conceding, but a senior staffer said he's told them to move on after losing the election

• Brazil's Bolsonaro addressed the nation for the first time since losing Sunday's election.
• He did not concede defeat, nor did he congratulate Lula on his victory, according to media reports.
• But Bolsonaro's chief of staff said the president will allow the government to start transitioning power.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro addressed the nation publicly for the first time on Tuesday since losing his tightly contested election — but he didn't formally concede the race.

In a short speech from his official residence in Brasilia, the far-right Trump ally Bolsonaro didn't accept defeat, nor did he offer his congratulations to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, or Lula, according to media reports.

Bolsonaro hadn't made any remarks since his narrow defeat on Sunday, which saw Brazil elect leftist candidate Lula. Some feared that Bolsonaro would turn to baseless election fraud claims — mirroring a playbook like that of his ally former President Donald Trump — should he lose.

While Bolsonaro refused to concede, his chief of staff Ciro Nogueira took the podium after his speech and said the government would transition power.

"President Bolsonaro has authorized me — when requested, based on the law — to start the transition process," Bolsonaro's chief of staff Ciro Nogueira said on Tuesday, the New York Times reported.

After Lula was declared the winner, amassing 50.9% of the votes to Bolsonaro's 49.1%, Western leaders quickly congratulated him in a move experts said was an effort to ward off any attempts to undermine the results.

"I send my congratulations to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his election to be the next president of Brazil following free, fair, and credible elections," President Joe Biden said. "I look forward to working together to continue the cooperation between our two countries in the months and years ahead."

Supporters of Bolsonaro, however, took to the streets after Sunday's contest and blocked roads around the country, demanding that the election results should be overturned. During his speech on Tuesday, Bolsonaro thanked his supporters but asked them to stop the blockades, according to the Times.

"Peaceful demonstrations will always be welcome," he said, the paper reported. "But our methods cannot be those of the left, like property invasion, destruction of goods, and restrictions on the right to come and go."