Jair Bolsonaro and Lula da Silva met for the first time in a presidential debate

SAN PABLO.- In a debate marked by cross-accusations and polarization, The President Jair Bolsonaro And this Former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva They met face to face this Sunday One of the most anticipated moments leading up to the October election was the first televised meeting of the election campaign in Brazil.

It will be the first time in Brazil’s recent history that the two arch-rivals will meet head-to-head. The most polarized election since the return to democracy in 1985. Organized by a group of Brazilian media outlets including Rede Bandeirantes and the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper, the debate is the first on the campaign calendar ahead of the Oct. 2 elections.

Lula76, who ruled Brazil between 2003 and 2010, Bolsonaro is leading the race with 47% willing to vote against 32%, according to a study by the Datafolha Institute published on August 18. Other polls also put Lula in the lead, albeit with less advantage.

Both candidates They accused each other of lying and misrepresenting information about their efforts. The other four candidates in the debate were also involved in these clashes Felipe de Avila of the new party, Simon Debbett of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, Soraya Thronique of the Brazilian Union Party, and Cyrus Gomez Democratic Labor Party.

Before the first cross-over between Lula and Bolsonaro, Debate was the first to accuse the far-right of anti-democratic behavior that undermined the republic’s institutions.

Bolsonaro said it was a “Barbaric” is the “interference” of some judges. and cited a federal Supreme Court judge’s order to search the offices of businessmen suspected of supporting a coup.

Then he said this There are parties who are uncomfortable with your government Because the ministers were selected on “technical” criteria and through irregular contracts without any provisions or concessions such as “banana giving”.

The first cross between the president and Lula came when the far right accused the left of leading the government.“Brazil is the most corrupt country in history.”The PT candidate responded by listing measures undertaken during his administration including social inclusion projects, policies to improve education and employment generation.

“It is worth noting that no president has conducted investigations related to corruption more than us. Petrobras was among the PT’s governments, and my government was characterized by the greatest policy of social inclusion, the greatest generational employment, the greatest increase in the minimum wage, the greatest investment in agriculture, Da replied. Silva.. “I left the country with the economy growing at 7.5%. This country is the current president [Bolsonaro] is destroying. So, people are missing the government I left behind, and this country will be the same again,” he said.

For his part, Lula focused his speech during the first part of the debate In conservation of the environment and the AmazonHe compared his government’s problems with the current administration, such as health, where he promised that “80 million people” in his government had been vaccinated against H1N1 and that “today there is a vaccine shortage because of Bolsonaro.”

Also, the leader of the PT, who was released in November 2019 after serving 580 days in jail for corruption, promised that he had been arrested. “So he won’t win the next election,” the candidate countered Gomez’s accusations who called Lula a “snake charmer” and “evil”.

Bolsonaro has been criticized by other candidates for increasing deforestation, inflation and hunger during his tenure.

When it is addressed Epidemic Management and Vaccination CampaignCiro Gomez said Brazil was “out of place” and was “shocked” to hear Bolsonaro say the “economy is growing”. He targeted the President, assuming it was him A person is “heartless”.

Between one of the most tense moments, the president of Brazil pointed out that the journalist of TV culture Vera Magalhas. An “Embarrassment” for Brazilian Journalism After the reporter questioned him About vaccine coverage in the country and his speeches against coronavirus vaccines.

After passing the first batch, Tensions boiled over on the studio stage as an exchange of shouts and insults erupted between Bolsonaro and Lula’s advisers.Such as the conflict between former environment minister Ricardo Salles and deputy Andre Janones

During the second round of the debate, Bolsonaro crossed paths with the candidate Simon Debbett who pointed out that Brazil “There cannot be a president who spreads fake news”And he is a misogynist and does not protect women.

Meanwhile, the president responded that his government includes all Brazilians, that he protects women and leads the government. “Who made more laws for women.”

On Friday, Bolsonaro said he “must stay” in the debate, though he feared he would become a favorite target of his opponents. “At one point I thought not to go, now I think I should. I’m going to be shot, they’re going to shoot me all the time (…) but I think my strategy will work,” President Jovem Ban said in an interview with radio.

For security reasons, there will be no audience in the studio. In 2018, when he won the election, Bolsonaro only participated in the first two presidential debates. With one month left for the first round, He was stabbed during a campaign rally and, after surgery, never debated again.

Neither Lula nor former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso (PSDB, center) participated in the pre-first-round debates when they sought re-election in 2006 and 1998, respectively.

AFP Agency, Telum and globe