SÃO PAULO — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro faced off Sunday night in their first televised debate of the presidential runoff, a combative, nearly two-hour exchange of personal attacks and corruption accusations one week before voters return to the polls on Oct. 25.
The debate, aired by Band TV, turned caustic early. Both candidates repeatedly called each other “liar.” Lula branded the younger Bolsonaro a “habitual liar” and a “thug,” and said he did not want to stand close to a “militiaman” — an allusion to alleged ties between the Bolsonaro family and paramilitary groups in Rio de Janeiro. Bolsonaro shot back that it was better to keep Lula at a distance “because my wallet could be stolen,” jabbing at Lula’s imprisonment on corruption charges that were later annulled.
Substantive policy discussion was thin. Analysts who expected the two candidates to court the few undecided voters were left disappointed, as the exchanges sometimes became inaudible and said little about future plans, according to AP’s account of the broadcast.
A dead heat into the final week
Flávio Bolsonaro, the 45-year-old eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, won the first round on Oct. 4 with 47 percent to Lula’s 45 percent. Two polls published Monday show the race tightening further: a Nexus/BTG Pactual survey put Bolsonaro at 46.5 percent to Lula’s 45.9 percent (50.3 to 49.7 in valid votes, within the 2-point margin of error), while an AtlasIntel/Bloomberg poll had Bolsonaro at 49.8 percent to Lula’s 47.6 percent (51.1 to 48.9 in valid votes, margin of error 1 point).
Both camps are chasing the roughly 33 million voters who stayed home in the first round — about one in five eligible voters.
Sunday also brought dueling rallies: tens of thousands of Bolsonaro supporters packed Paulista Avenue in São Paulo, while Lula backers filled Rio’s Copacabana Beach, Brasília’s government plaza and 16 other state capitals.
New legal pressure before Friday’s second debate
Also on Sunday, Brazil’s federal police asked the Supreme Court to open a money-laundering investigation against Flávio Bolsonaro over allegations involving a lawyer close to him. He denies any wrongdoing.
The candidates meet again Friday in a second debate on TV Globo, Brazil’s leading broadcaster.
The stakes extend beyond Brazil’s borders. The winner will lead Latin America’s biggest economy and its 214 million people: a Bolsonaro victory would deepen U.S. influence in the region, where he is an ally of President Donald Trump, while a Lula win would keep Brazil at a distance from Washington and push it further toward China.
This story is developing.
Sources: AP (via The Los Angeles Post); Reuters.
