Lula and Bolsonaro tear each other apart in the first debate of the presidential campaign

Jair Bolsonaro and Lula, the two main candidates for Brazil’s presidency, have blamed each other for all the country’s ills on television since Sunday, August 28, ahead of the October vote.

These two rivals, focal points of Brazil’s recent history, face each other publicly for the first time. “His government is the most corrupt in Brazil’s history”Launched against outgoing far-right president Lula.

The former head of state, 76, responded by defending his government record (2003-2010) based on social reforms. He said, Mr. Bolsonaro, 67, “destroys” Country. Both the candidates accused each other of lying.

In the first part of the debate, Lula focused his speech on protecting the environment and the Amazon.

In one of the most tense moments of the exchanges, Outgoing President In a question, he attacked journalist Vera Magalhas for allegedly spreading misinformation about Covid vaccines. “Vera, you sleep thinking about me, you have some kind of attraction (…), I cannot stand on one side in such a debate and falsely accuse me. “You are a disgrace to the Brazilian press.”, he said. Called a misogynist by another presidential candidate, Mr. Bolsonaro has denied the allegations.

Jair Bolsonaro refuses to shake hands with Lula

Jair Bolsonaro had told reporters before the meeting that he had no discomfort facing the former leftist president, but he did not. “Tighten[it] Not a thief’s hand”Referring to the corruption case within the public oil company Petrobras.

The former president was detained between April 2018 and November 2019 following corruption charges. He regained all his political rights in 2021, and the Supreme Court overturned these decisions, finding that the court that tried him in the first instance was incompetent.

Lula maintained throughout the debate that he had been proven innocent, but the other candidates did not hesitate to accuse him on several occasions. “corruption”.

According to the Datafolha Institute, Lula leads Jair Bolsonaro with 47% of voting intentions to 32% of the vote. Other polls give Lula a smaller lead.

In addition to the two options, the organizers of the debate have invited four candidates, with former Finance Minister Ciro Gomez of the PDT (centre-left) and Senator Simone Debet (MTP) (centre) third and fourth respectively in the polls. .

In 2018, the year he won the election, Mr Bolsonaro took part in only the first two debates. A month before the first round, he was stabbed during a meeting and, after surgery, never resumed debating.