Saddam Bolsonaro and Lula in the first electoral debate

Brazil’s two leading presidential candidates, Jair Bolsonaro and Lula, accused each other of all the country’s problems in their first face-to-face television interview on Sunday, August 28 ahead of the October vote. These two opponents, pivotal figures in the modern history of Brazil, faced each other in public for the first time.

“His government was the most corrupt in Brazilian history.It set off against Lula, the favorite according to opinion polls, the outgoing far-right president. The person in question, 76, responded by defending his government record (2003-2010) in the field of social reforms. According to him, Jair Bolsonaro, 67, “destroyCountry. The two candidates accused each other of lying.

In the first part of the discussion, which is supposed to last three hours, Lula focused his speech on defending the environment and the Amazon.

Read alsoBolsonaro-Lula duel attracts Brazil

Jair Bolsonaro had told reporters before this meeting that he did not see any inconvenience in the face of the former leftist president, but “You will not shake hands with a thiefIn reference to the corruption case within the state oil company Petrobras.

Lola’s favorite from polls

Lula leads the race in the polls with 47% of voting intentions, compared to 32% for Jair Bolsonaro, according to the Datafolha Institute. Other opinion polls have given Lula a lower lead.

In addition to the preferred candidates, debate organizers called four other candidates, including former Finance Minister Ciro Gomez of the PDT (centre left) and Senator Simon Tibet of MDB (centre), respectively third and fourth on the ballot. .

In 2018, the year he won the election, Jair Bolsonaro participated in only the first two debates. A month before the first round, he was stabbed during a meeting, and after undergoing surgery, he did not resume discussions.