Published: Just now
The two main candidates in the elections in Brazil met in a televised election debate. The tone was heated from the start, and both Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva accused each other of being liars. And backstage, fights almost broke out.
The two candidates, who according to opinion polls are the two most likely to win the election in October, waited until the last minute before confirming that they would take part in the first televised debate before the election.
Already in his opening speech, incumbent President Bolsonaro threw down the gloves and called Lula da Silva a thief.
– Your government was the most corrupt in Brazilian history, said Bolsonaro, and wondered why the opponent really wanted to return to power.
Lula da Silva, in turn, accused Bolsonaro of sabotaging economic development and the fight against poverty.
– This country has been destroyed, said Lula da Silva.
Both, however, kept reasonably to the rules of the debate in São Paulo. But in an adjoining room, an MP and an ex-minister who support each candidate smoked together and started shouting at each other, and had to be pulled apart.
Six of the twelve presidential candidates participated in the debate on Sunday evening. But given that Lula da Silva currently has the support of 47 percent of voters and Bolsonaro 32 percent, most eyes were on them.
If a candidate fails to secure 50 percent of the vote in a first round on October 2, the top two candidates advance to a runoff held on October 30.