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First face to face between Jair Bolsonaro and his opponent Lula. The presidential debate took place on Sunday night, 15 days before the second round. The tone rose very fast and very high.
With the RFI correspondent in São Paulo, Martin Bernard
Lula and Bolsonaro waged a real battle for two hours, peppered with insults and accusations, first in the voice of the Brazilian president: “So, Mr. Lula, stop lying. It doesn’t look good for someone your age. I’m not talking about his past, because his past is unfortunate,” he told her.
“The liar is you! You are the king of fake news,” ex-president Lula replied. “The king of stupidity, of lying to Brazilian society. And on top of that, you haven’t even bothered to visit a family bereaved by Covid,” Lula added.
Attacks on the pandemic and support for the Ortega regime
Jair Bolsonaro is being questioned for his management of the pandemic, which has killed 680,000 people in Brazil, but he fights back on the issue of corruption. He also accuses Lula of having ties to the authoritarian government of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua.
Well trained, Lula seemed calmer during the debate. Sometimes smiling, sometimes indignant, he addressed the voters, looking directly into the camera. Jair Bolsonaro was more tense.
“The one who defends democracy and freedom is me, much more than him, who is a small dictator, who says day after day that he wants to appoint his friends to the Supreme Court. I want to govern this country democratically,” said the former president.
The second round of elections is shaping up to be a hotly contested election and both candidates are trying to rally political support and try to convince the undecided through an intense campaign throughout Brazil. In the first Lula obtained 48.3% of the votes and Bolsonaro 43.2%.
