The final debate before the first round of Brazil’s presidential election on Sunday was marked by the exchange of allegations between candidates, especially those of corruption between the favourites, Jair Bolsonaro and Lula da Silva.
The long event, which started at 10:30 PM and lasted until 2:00 AM local time (6:00 AM in Lisbon), was broadcast on the open channel of Globo, the largest television network of the South American giant, and was attended by Ciro Gomes (PDT), Jair Bolsonaro (PL), Father Kelmon (PTB), Luiz Felipe D’Ávila (Novo), Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), Simone Tebet (MDB) and Soraya Thronicke (União Brasil).
Father Kelmon (PTB), who served as a walking stick for Bolsonaro during the debate, asked the Brazilian president if the left wants to “close churches and silence priests”.
Bolsonaro replied that the “nation’s future is at stake” and accused Lula of having been the “head of the gang”.
From there, the debate degenerated into an exchange of corruption allegations and requests for a right of reply between the two leading candidates.
“Behave like a president, don’t lie,” said Lula, who later denounced alleged corruption cases by Bolsonaro in the negotiations over the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines, as well as a case involving the Ministry of Education. where evangelical pastors asked money from their congregations.
“Traitor to the Fatherland. Cracked [desvio de salários de assessores] are your children. They stole millions after you came to power,” Bolsonaro accused. adding: “Liar, ex-con, traitor”.
Lula guaranteed that on Sunday “the people” will send the Brazilian president “home”
At one point, Ciro Gomes, third in the polls, jokingly said, “Can I wait outside?”
Jair Bolsonaro also took the opportunity to recall the murder of Celso Daniel, a key leader of the Workers’ Party (PT), the party founded and led by Lula, who was murdered in 2002, in a crime initially was attributed to militants of that political party. party that opposed Daniel’s decision to fight and expose corruption.
The former union leader asked to defend himself against the accusation, admitting he felt uncomfortable having to discuss the matter and share the debate with a “shameless” person, referring to Bolsonaro.
“This is not a presentation of proposals, but a mutual attack to see who stole the most,” said Senator Simone Tebet.
During the debate, fourth place in the polls tried to draw attention to the precariousness of Brazilian education, the hungry children and the fires in the Amazon, a question answered by Bolsonaro: “So the lack of rain is my responsibility?”
The atmosphere of tension also returned when Father Kelmon (PTB) – described by candidate Soraya Thronicke as Bolsonaro’s “corporal” and “father of Festa Junina” – again accused Lula of corruption.
“I had 26 false accusations made by a person who later became a minister in the current government,” said Lula, referring to Sérgio Moro, the judge behind Lula da Silva’s conviction for corruption in Operation Car Wash cases.
However, these were eventually overturned by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) due to jurisdiction and acknowledgment of Moro’s partiality.
“I have been acquitted in 26 cases in Brazil,” said Lula, concluding: “If you want to talk about corruption, look at someone else, don’t look at me.”
One question that remained unanswered was that of Soraya Thronicke, who asked Bolsonaro whether he will respect the outcome of the election and whether he intends to stage a coup.
Bolsonaro, who wants to be re-elected on October 2, has questioned the reliability of the electronic voting system Brazil introduced nearly three decades ago, when all the polls gave his main opponent, Lula da Silva, a chance to win in the first round. .
The former Brazilian president could win the presidential election in the first round, which will take place on Sunday, according to a poll released Thursday by the datafolha institute.
Lula leads the race with 50% valid votes, that is, not counting blank and invalid votes, a criterion used by the electoral authorities to count the result of the election, giving him the opportunity to win as early as Sunday.
According to the poll, conducted between Tuesday and Thursday and with a margin of error of two percentage points, Bolsonaro follows in second place with 36% valid votes.
Source: DN
