Lula and Bolsonaro clash in Brazil’s heated first runoff debate
Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and right‑wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro engaged in a sharply personal debate on Sunday, a week before the tightly contested presidential runoff. The two men traded accusations, called each other liars, and invoked a series of scandals while debating topics ranging from public security to health care.
Lula labeled Bolsonaro a “habitual liar” and a “thug,” and physically moved away from the candidate on stage, referring to the younger Bolsonaro as a “militiaman” because of alleged links to Rio de Janeiro’s paramilitary groups. Bolsonaro, who topped the first‑round vote with 47 percent against Lula’s 45 percent, replied that he kept his distance from Lula “because my wallet could be stolen.” Throughout the exchange, the 45‑year‑old Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, paced behind Lula, shaking his head and smirking as the 80‑year‑old president spoke.
Lula pressed for details about a corruption probe involving Flávio’s father, a question the younger Bolsonaro evaded. In response, Bolsonaro called Lula a “clown” and raised the possibility of a corruption case involving one of Lula’s sons.
Flávio Bolsonaro, the Liberal Party’s presidential candidate, focused on the cost of living, crime and what he described as Lula’s “reckless spending” to secure re‑election, citing the social programs the president has announced. Lula countered by asking how Bolsonaro would replicate the severe public‑spending cuts pursued by Argentina’s right‑wing president Javier Milei. Bolsonaro sidestepped the question and shifted the conversation. When asked about his father’s handling of the COVID‑19 pandemic, he admitted the response had not produced the best results and offered a brief mea culpa.
Lula also tried to portray his opponent as out of touch with ordinary Brazilians, noting that Bolsonaro had never used the public health 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.
Supporters of both candidates gathered in large numbers before the debate. Pro‑Bolsonaro crowds in yellow, green and blue filled São Paulo’s Paulista Avenue, while Lula’s supporters in red occupied Brasília’s government plaza and students staged protests in Rio de Janeiro. At a rally in Rio, singer Caetano Veloso performed for Lula’s backers. One Lula supporter in Brasília, Sonia Maria, said, “We need the current government to remain in power. If another government comes in, we’re, excuse my language, screwed.” A Bolsonaro supporter in São Paulo, Vera de Sousa, declared, “I don’t like bandits. Out with Lula!”
On the same day, Brazil’s federal police asked the Supreme Court to open an investigation into Flávio Bolsonaro over a money‑laundering allegation involving a lawyer close to him. The candidate is already under scrutiny for ties to Daniel Vorcaro, a disgraced former banker who financed a movie about Jair Bolsonaro’s life. Lula himself spent 580 days in prison in 2018‑19 after a corruption conviction that was later annulled due to procedural flaws.
Polls show a narrow race for the October 25 runoff, with Flávio Bolsonaro holding a slight edge after finishing about two points ahead of Lula in the first round on October 4. Both candidates are seeking to win over the roughly 33 million voters who stayed home in the first round, about one in five eligible voters. The debate was the first between the two after they declined earlier offers to meet, and a second debate is set for October 23, just before the runoff.