Lula and Bolsonaro spar in fiery debate ahead of Brazil’s presidential run-off 

SAO PAULO — Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro traded barbs in their first face-to-face debate on Sunday in a contentious back-and-forth just a week before a tight presidential run-off.Polls ​before the debate suggested Bolsonaro, the son of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, would enter the October 25 vote as the favorite after finishing nearly two points ahead of Lula in ‌the election’s first round earlier this month.But surveys have also shown a narrowing race, and Lula has expressed confidence he can be the first candidate since Brazil’s return to democracy in the 1980s to finish second in the first round and go on to win the election.Both candidates hope to engage the 33 million voters who stayed home in the first ⁠round, equal to about one in five eligible voters.The debate, which allowed the candidates to move about the stage and interact with each other with limited moderation from the host, turned quickly into a heated exchange.In a barrage of personal attacks on Sunday, the two men accused each other of corruption, dragged up various scandals, and clashed on issues from public security to healthcare.Lula said Bolsonaro was “a habitual liar” and a “thug”, and physically distanced himself on stage from the candidate he called a “militiaman”, alluding to his alleged ties to Rio de Janeiro’s paramilitary groups.Bolsonaro, who led the first-round election with 47 percent to Lula’s 45 percent, said it was better to keep Lula at a distance “because my wallet could be stolen”.Throughout the debate, Bolsonaro, 45, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, paced behind Lula, shaking his head, smirking and scoffing as his adversary spoke.The 80-year-old Lula, who is seeking a fourth term, demanded an explanation regarding a corruption investigation involving the older Bolsonaro, a question his opponent dodged.The younger Bolsonaro responded by calling Lula a “clown”, and then parried by bringing up a potential corruption case involving one of the president’s sons.Bolsonaro hammered away at the top concerns of Brazilians, such as the cost of living and crime, and accused Lula of “reckless spending” to get re-elected, referring to various social measures the president has announced during the campaign.Lula countered by asking Bolsonaro about his plans to emulate the drastic public spending cuts implemented by Argentina’s right-wing president, Javier Milei.Bolsonaro dodged the question throughout the debate and pivoted to different topics.When his father’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic came up, Bolsonaro admitted that this “wasn’t an area where we saw the best results during Bolsonaro’s presidency. I’ll offer a mea culpa here.”Lula also sought to portray his opponent as out of touch with poor Brazilians, saying Bolsonaro had never used the country’s 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.A second debate is scheduled for October 23, just ahead of the run-off.Ahead of Sunday’s debate, supporters of each candidate gathered en masse in public to show their allegiance.Pro-Bolsonaro crowds wearing Brazil’s national colours of yellow, green and blue packed Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo’s financial centre, where the candidate addressed the crowd.Lula supporters wearing red, symbolic of his Workers’ Party, filled Brasilia’s plaza of government buildings, while students backing the president protested against Bolsonaro in Rio de Janeiro.“We need the current government to remain in power. If another government comes in, we’re, excuse my language, screwed,” said Lula supporter Sonia Maria at the Brasilia rally.Also on Sunday, Brazil’s federal police asked the country’s Supreme Court to open an investigation into Bolsonaro over a money laundering accusation involving a lawyer close to him.The presidential candidate is already under investigation for his links to Daniel Vorcaro, a disgraced former banker who financed a movie about Jair Bolsonaro’s life.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.