Far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and left-wing ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have repeatedly called themselves liars in a recent debate on Friday night that focused on the economy, corruption and foreign policy just two days before Brazil’s runoff elections.
“Brazilians know who the liar is,” Lula said, while the two horns spoke about minimum wages and the history of the left’s corruption allegations, while sticking to the personal attacks and issues seen during the campaigns.
“Stop lying Lula, stop lying. It’s going to be ugly,” Bolsonaro said.
The bitter rivals engage in their second head-to-head duel – the grand finale of a brutal campaign marked by months of mudslinging, negative publicity and a spate of disinformation on social media.
Though Lula has a small lead in the polls, pundits say the race could go either way – making the debate a final, high-stakes showdown as rivals battle for the final vote.
“The only thing that could change (the situation) at this point is the debate,” said political scientist Felipe Nunes, director of polling firm Quaest.
“Any slip, every toneless remark could be decisive for the final result,” he told AFP before the duel.
The debate will be broadcast live on TV Globo, Brazil’s largest broadcaster.
Lula, the popular but ailing ex-president who led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, entered the debate, leading the polarizing hard-line conservative Bolsonaro by 53 to 47 percent, according to a poll released Thursday by the Datafolha Institute.
– “Insane Behavior” –
Bolsonaro once again attacked Lula over his history of corruption allegations, which remains the left’s Achilles’ heel for many voters.
Lula was the country’s most popular president when he left office in 2010 and helped lift millions out of poverty through his social programs.
However, he then became caught up in a massive corruption scandal and was jailed for 18 months before his convictions were overturned last year. The Supreme Court found that the lead judge was biased, although Lula was never exonerated.
“With me you have security, you will have honesty. There will be no theft. Do you want me to give more examples of corruption, Lula? Or can we move on,” Bolsonaro said.
Lula once called Bolsonaro “crazy” and criticized his government’s “insane behavior” over the past four years.
Bolsonaro, 67, is seeking re-election after a first term in which he was accused of mishandling the pandemic. It was marked by harsh attacks on his perceived rivals, ranging from the judiciary to women and foreign leaders.
“You isolated Brazil. Today Brazil is more isolated than Cuba. You are not related to anyone. Nobody wants to receive you. Nobody comes here,” said Lula, 77.
Bolsonaro laughed at the accusation.
“We have a lot to do. The Arab world welcomes me with open arms. I spoke to (US President Joe) Biden a while ago. I speak to everyone. Stop lying, Lula.”
Bolsonaro boasted about declining employment and inflation when Lula approached him on economic issues.
“Lying Lula! Do I have to perform an exorcism on you to stop lying?”
Bolsonaro’s conservative hardline fans love his focus on “God, Country, Family and Freedom.”
He repeated allegations that Lula was an “abortionist” who wanted to legalize drugs. Lula reiterated that he was actually against abortion – a sensitive issue in socially conservative Brazil.
– ‘The whole system is against me’ –
Bolsonaro also cited his renewed attacks on the electoral system, which he says is plagued by fraud, and warned he would only accept defeat if there was “nothing unusual” about the elections.
Many fear a Brazilian repeat of the Capitol Uprising that rocked the United States after Bolsonaro’s political role model Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.
Bolsonaro’s campaign had already claimed “election fraud” before the vote, claiming that 150,000 of Bolsonaro’s publicly funded campaign ads were blocked on the radio.
Chief Electoral Judge Alexandre de Moraes dismissed the case on Wednesday, declaring it unfounded.
“The whole system is against me,” Bolsonaro said during the debate, as he accused Lula of having friends on the Supreme Electoral Court called TSE, who keep judging him.
While Lula continues to lead in the polls, Bolsonaro’s strong support means many see the race as too close to announce.
