Lula, Bolsonaro Deadlocked at 50 Percent After Fiery Final Debate
(MENAFN) Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Flavio Bolsonaro exchanged blistering attacks over infrastructure, crime and corruption Friday in their last televised showdown, two days before Brazil’s presidential runoff.
The face-off, staged at a Brazilian broadcaster’s Rio de Janeiro studios, was the pair’s second one-on-one debate. It came a day after a leading Brazilian polling institute put the two candidates dead even at 50% each.
Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, topped the first round with 47%. Lula, the 80-year-old Workers’ Party (PT) leader, trailed with 45%.
Flavio Bolsonaro struck first, charging that 100,500 public construction projects across the country have ground to a halt.
“Brazil has once again become a vast graveyard of construction projects,” he declared, taking aim at the government’s fiscal spending. “Purchasing power has been destroyed by the government, which spends too much.”
Lula answered by vowing to finish every stalled project, citing federal money poured into highways, tunnels and water diversion schemes.
Courting middle-class voters, Flavio Bolsonaro pledged to increase the minimum wage and pensions, and promised not to privatize state-owned Banco do Brasil or Petrobras.
The two clashed repeatedly over their personal records and political histories. Lula faulted Flavio Bolsonaro for opposing longer maternity leave while serving as a Rio de Janeiro state representative. The senator conceded the point.
“After having had children, I would vote completely differently.”
Lula also revisited Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, accusing that administration of ignoring medical advice and allowing more than 700,000 Brazilians to die.
Flavio Bolsonaro hit back, accusing Lula of running soft-on-crime justice policies.
“Lula, why don’t you put the victims’ interests above those of the criminals?”
The exchange then devolved into trading accusations. Lula raised an offshore property dispute involving Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison, who recently accused Flavio Bolsonaro of obtaining an island and a mansion in Angra dos Reis through illicit legal maneuvers.
Lula sought to spotlight corruption allegations surrounding the Bolsonaro family, but the fixation on narrow real estate claims pulled attention from the wider policy debate. Flavio Bolsonaro retaliated by alleging that Lula accepted a bottle of high-end whiskey worth 500,000 real ($100,700) from a political donor.
To head off the non-verbal intimidation seen in Sunday’s debate on a rival broadcaster, when Flavio Bolsonaro repeatedly stood behind Lula as he spoke, the hosting broadcaster imposed strict stage rules. Candidates had to stay in designated areas while their opponent was speaking.
Brazilians vote Sunday in a runoff analysts have called one of the most polarized elections in the nation’s history.
The razor-thin margin has fueled a surge of digital and grassroots mobilization. Chasing a dramatic virada, or comeback, the PT launched a major social media push through its “Lula Army” WhatsApp network, which added more than 1 million followers Friday and now approaches 10 million subscribers.
Building on his first-round lead, Flavio Bolsonaro has tried to cast himself as part of a wider conservative resurgence in Latin America, even though former US President Donald Trump has not explicitly endorsed him.
The face-off, staged at a Brazilian broadcaster’s Rio de Janeiro studios, was the pair’s second one-on-one debate. It came a day after a leading Brazilian polling institute put the two candidates dead even at 50% each.
Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, topped the first round with 47%. Lula, the 80-year-old Workers’ Party (PT) leader, trailed with 45%.
Flavio Bolsonaro struck first, charging that 100,500 public construction projects across the country have ground to a halt.
“Brazil has once again become a vast graveyard of construction projects,” he declared, taking aim at the government’s fiscal spending. “Purchasing power has been destroyed by the government, which spends too much.”
Lula answered by vowing to finish every stalled project, citing federal money poured into highways, tunnels and water diversion schemes.
Courting middle-class voters, Flavio Bolsonaro pledged to increase the minimum wage and pensions, and promised not to privatize state-owned Banco do Brasil or Petrobras.
The two clashed repeatedly over their personal records and political histories. Lula faulted Flavio Bolsonaro for opposing longer maternity leave while serving as a Rio de Janeiro state representative. The senator conceded the point.
“After having had children, I would vote completely differently.”
Lula also revisited Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, accusing that administration of ignoring medical advice and allowing more than 700,000 Brazilians to die.
Flavio Bolsonaro hit back, accusing Lula of running soft-on-crime justice policies.
“Lula, why don’t you put the victims’ interests above those of the criminals?”
The exchange then devolved into trading accusations. Lula raised an offshore property dispute involving Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison, who recently accused Flavio Bolsonaro of obtaining an island and a mansion in Angra dos Reis through illicit legal maneuvers.
Lula sought to spotlight corruption allegations surrounding the Bolsonaro family, but the fixation on narrow real estate claims pulled attention from the wider policy debate. Flavio Bolsonaro retaliated by alleging that Lula accepted a bottle of high-end whiskey worth 500,000 real ($100,700) from a political donor.
To head off the non-verbal intimidation seen in Sunday’s debate on a rival broadcaster, when Flavio Bolsonaro repeatedly stood behind Lula as he spoke, the hosting broadcaster imposed strict stage rules. Candidates had to stay in designated areas while their opponent was speaking.
Brazilians vote Sunday in a runoff analysts have called one of the most polarized elections in the nation’s history.
The razor-thin margin has fueled a surge of digital and grassroots mobilization. Chasing a dramatic virada, or comeback, the PT launched a major social media push through its “Lula Army” WhatsApp network, which added more than 1 million followers Friday and now approaches 10 million subscribers.
Building on his first-round lead, Flavio Bolsonaro has tried to cast himself as part of a wider conservative resurgence in Latin America, even though former US President Donald Trump has not explicitly endorsed him.
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