With the debate, candidates hope to win over floating voters when the second round of Brazil’s presidential election takes place in two weeks’ time. The word liar was mentioned over and over, at least more than a dozen times per candidate.
‘You lie. “You lie every day,” Lola said during the conversation. Bolsonaro has been dubbed the “King of Fake News.” In turn, Bolsonaro said regularly: “You can’t come here and tell people these lies.”
winner
Earlier this month, Lula won the first round of elections with 48 percent of the vote, compared to 43 percent for Bolsonaro. Opinion polls show that the leftist Lula, who also served as president between 2003 and 2010, remains the leader, although his lead has been significantly diminished.
Each candidate focused on issues that polls suggested represented their opponent’s weaknesses: for Bolsonaro, this was the Covid pandemic that killed 680,000 Brazilians. He accused: “Never in the history of this country has a president been so neglectful of human life.” And for Lula, it was the corruption scandals that the Labor Party was involved in. “You are a disgrace to the country,” Bolsonaro said to his face.
The two candidates are expected to participate in another debate a few days before the elections on TV Globo, the most popular channel in Brazil.
