Is it time for Brazil to re-engage with its national symbols?

“I have an important warning for you,” said President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, during a Thursday speech in Brasília. “The football World Cup is about to start, and we must not be embarrassed to wear our green and yellow jersey. The green and yellow do not belong to a candidate or a party. These are the colors of 213 million Brazilians who love this country.”

Meanwhile, in front of military barracks in Rio de Janeiro state, groups of supporters of defeated President Jair Bolsonaro kneeled in collective prayer, completely decked out in the colors of the Brazilian flag. These hardcore far-right fanatics held nationwide protests, calling for a military coup that would cancel the election and keep Mr. Bolsonaro in power.

The use of green and yellow has been a crucial facet of Brazilian political quarrels in the last decade. The reactionary right, rallying behind Mr. Bolsonaro, has used national symbols extensively, furthering their claim to protect patriotic, religious, and family values. 

Their opposition, particularly during this year’s election campaign, has opted instead for the color red, representing the Workers’ Party of which President-elect Lula is the historical figurehead.

Now, with the football World Cup in Qatar arriving shortly after the election, the question is whether these wardrobe dilemmas will continue as Brazil goes...