Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and right-leaning Senator Flavio Bolsonaro hurled personal insults at each other during their first head-to-head debate, held one week before a closely contested presidential run-off.
The chaotic Sunday exchange saw both men repeatedly call the other a liar. They also traded corruption accusations, revisited past scandals and argued over public security and healthcare.
Insults and accusations fly across the debate stage
Lula described Bolsonaro as “a habitual liar” and a “thug”. He kept his distance on stage from the candidate he called a “militiaman”, pointing to Bolsonaro’s alleged ties to paramilitary groups in Rio de Janeiro.
Bolsonaro, who finished first in the opening round with 47 percent to Lula’s 45 percent, said it was wiser to stay away from Lula “because my wallet could be stolen”.
Throughout the exchange, Bolsonaro, 45, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, paced behind Lula, shaking his head, smirking and scoffing while the president spoke. Lula, who is 80 and seeking a fourth term, demanded an explanation of a corruption investigation involving the elder Bolsonaro. Flavio Bolsonaro did not answer that question directly.
Instead, he called Lula a “clown” and raised a potential corruption case involving one of the president’s sons. Jair Bolsonaro is under house arrest while serving a 27-year sentence linked to efforts to overturn the 2022 election, which he lost to Lula.
Attacks over spending, the pandemic and public healthcare
Flavio Bolsonaro focused on cost of living and crime, the issues he said worry Brazilians most. He accused Lula of “reckless spending” to win re-election, pointing to social measures the president has announced during the campaign.
Lula responded by asking whether Bolsonaro planned to copy the sweeping public spending cuts carried out by Argentina’s right-wing president, Javier Milei. Bolsonaro avoided the question and moved on to other topics.
When the debate turned to his father’s handling of COVID-19, Bolsonaro acknowledged that it “wasn’t an area where we saw the best results during Bolsonaro’s presidency” and offered a mea culpa. Lula also portrayed his rival as out of touch with ordinary Brazilians, saying he had never used the public healthcare system or taken a bus.
“My opponent only knows about buses from books. He has never even stepped foot on one. He has no idea what the world of work is like,” Lula said.
Rival crowds rally as federal police seek probe
Before the debate, supporters of both candidates turned out in large numbers. Pro-Bolsonaro crowds dressed in Brazil’s yellow, green and blue packed Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo’s financial centre, where the candidate addressed them.
In Brasilia, Lula backers wearing red, the colour of his Workers’ Party, filled the plaza of government buildings. Students supporting the president protested against Bolsonaro in Rio de Janeiro.
Lula supporter Sonia Maria told the Brasilia rally that the current government must stay in power, warning that a change would leave the country in serious trouble. Bolsonaro backer Vera de Sousa, speaking in Sao Paulo, said she did not like bandits and called for Lula to go: “Out with Lula!”
On the same day, Brazil’s federal police asked the Supreme Court to open an investigation into Bolsonaro over a money laundering accusation involving a lawyer close to him. The candidate is already under investigation over his links to Daniel Vorcaro, a disgraced former banker who financed a movie about Jair Bolsonaro’s life.
Tight polls and a second debate before the vote
Polls point to a close race in the October 25 run-off, with Flavio Bolsonaro holding a slight advantage. He finished nearly two percentage points ahead of Lula in the first round on October 4.
Both candidates hope to reach the 33 million voters who stayed home in the first round, equal to about one in five eligible voters.
Lula spent 580 days in prison in 2018 and 2019 on a corruption conviction that was later annulled over flaws in the investigation and legal proceedings. Sunday’s debate was the first between the two men, after both had declined earlier opportunities. A second debate is scheduled for October 23, just ahead of the runoff.
