Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro Trade Corruption Charges in First Runoff Debate Ahead of October 25 Vote
Brazil's Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva traded barbs in their first face-to-face presidential debate on Sunday, one week before the October 25 runoff, Reuters reported on October 18. Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, finished the first round earlier this month nearly two points ahead of Lula.
The debate quickly turned into an exchange of corruption accusations. Lula pressed Bolsonaro on alleged links to jailed banker Daniel Vorcaro, while Bolsonaro questioned Lula about accusations involving his son and a pension fraud scandal. 'Lying is the Bolsonaro family's strong suit,' Lula said, while Bolsonaro said Lula is 'always tainted by corruption'. The format allowed the candidates to move about the stage and interact with limited moderation, at times fuelling tense exchanges and vocal frustration from the audience.
Lula told reporters before the debate that he hoped to win over the 33 million voters who stayed home in the first round, about one in five eligible voters; a win would make him 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. Polls suggested a narrowing race. A second debate is scheduled for October 23. Supporters of both candidates rallied in Brazilian cities on debate day, and a dispute over whether Meta's platforms treated the two campaigns equally added tension to the final week; Meta said it had experienced global technical glitches and denied any political bias.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：巴西利亚巴西国会大厦。来源：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0 / Photo: The National Congress of Brazil in Brasília. Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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