Brazil Runoff Heads to Final Week After Bitter Lula-Bolsonaro Debate

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro met for their first head-to-head debate on Sunday, a week before a presidential runoff that polls show is very close. According to Al Jazeera, Euronews and ABC News, the exchange was acrimonious and dominated by personal attacks rather than detailed policy.

The broadcast on Band TV lasted about two hours, ABC News reported. The winner of the Oct. 25 vote will lead Latin America's biggest economy, a country of 214 million people.

What happened on stage

The two men called each other liars repeatedly and accused each other of corruption, Al Jazeera and Euronews reported. They also clashed over the economy, public security, healthcare and Brazil's ties to the United States. ABC News said analysts had hoped the candidates would speak to the few undecided voters but were disappointed. The heated exchanges were sometimes inaudible, ABC said, and often drew in family members.

Lula, who is 80 and seeking a fourth nonconsecutive term, called his rival a habitual liar and a thug. He also linked him to paramilitary groups in Rio de Janeiro, according to Al Jazeera and Euronews, and kept his distance on stage. Bolsonaro, 45, answered that keeping apart was wise because his wallet could be stolen. Euronews reported that he paced behind Lula, shaking his head and smirking as the president spoke, and told him, "Brazil is going to retire you."

Bolsonaro focused on the cost of living and crime and accused Lula of reckless spending to win re-election through social measures announced during the campaign. Lula asked whether Bolsonaro planned deep public spending cuts like those of Argentine President Javier Milei. Al Jazeera and Euronews both said Bolsonaro avoided the question. Lula also questioned the Bolsonaro family's ties to U.S. President Donald Trump and said it was subservient to American interests, Euronews reported.

When his father's handling of COVID-19 came up, Bolsonaro conceded the record there was not strong and offered a mea culpa, according to Al Jazeera. ABC News said the tensest moment came when Lula challenged both men to open their personal finances to scrutiny before the runoff.

Legal clouds over the race

Also on Sunday, Brazil's federal police asked the Supreme Court to open an investigation into Flávio Bolsonaro over a money laundering accusation involving a lawyer close to him, ABC News and Al Jazeera reported. He is already under investigation over links to Daniel Vorcaro, a disgraced former banker who financed a movie about Jair Bolsonaro's life. ABC said Flávio Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing in both cases.

How the race got here

• 2018 and 2019: Lula spent 580 days in prison on a corruption conviction that was later annulled over flaws in the investigation and legal proceedings, according to Al Jazeera.
• 2022: Jair Bolsonaro lost the presidential election to Lula. He is now serving a 27-year sentence tied to efforts to overturn that result. Al Jazeera and Euronews describe it as house arrest, while ABC News calls it a prison sentence for a coup attempt.
• Oct. 4: Flávio Bolsonaro won the first round with 47% to Lula's 45%, according to ABC News. Euronews described the lead as a surprise.
• Sunday's debate: Both candidates had earlier declined chances to debate, Al Jazeera reported, so this was their first face-to-face meeting of the campaign.
• Oct. 23: A second debate is scheduled on TV Globo, Brazil's leading television network.
• Oct. 25: The runoff election.

Why it matters beyond Brazil's borders

ABC News said a Bolsonaro win would increase U.S. influence in Latin America because he is an ally of Trump. A Lula win would keep Brazil at a distance from Washington and deepen its relationship with China, ABC said.

For voters, the main question may be who turns out. Euronews reported that two polls this week showed Bolsonaro with 51% of voting intentions to Lula's 49%, a slightly narrower gap than before. Al Jazeera said both campaigns are courting the 33 million voters who stayed home in the first round, about one in five eligible voters.

Euronews cited experts who said a widespread perception of corruption may matter less for which candidate people pick than for whether they vote at all. They said that could increase abstention and anti-incumbent feeling, which could potentially help Bolsonaro, who got 2.2 million more votes than Lula in the first round. Political scientist Nara Pavão of the Federal University of Pernambuco told Euronews that many voters filter out information that goes against their beliefs.

What happens next

The candidates meet again in the TV Globo debate on Friday, Oct. 23, two days before voters return to the polls. Both sides drew large crowds on Sunday before the debate. ABC News said Bolsonaro's supporters rallied on Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo, many calling for his father's release. Lula's backers gathered in Rio's Copacabana Beach, Brasilia and 16 other state capitals.

Sources: Al Jazeera, ABC News, Euronews