Brazil’s Lula, Bolsonaro Set for First Debate

Flávio Bolsonaro led the first round 47 percent to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's 45 percent before their first debate on Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, at Band studios in São Paulo. The exchange started at 8:15 p.m. and ran about 1 hour 40 minutes. They called each other liars multiple times and traded corruption charges. Lula labeled Flávio "a habitual liar, a thug" and a "militiaman," then moved away on stage. Flávio said distance was wiser "because my wallet could be stolen." Lula said, "He's even worse than his father." Flávio shot back, "Brazil is going to retire you," and called Lula a "clown" when pressed on a corruption investigation. Flávio paced behind Lula, shaking his head, smirking and scoffing. Lula, almost 81 and seeking a fourth term, told viewers to "look it up on Google." Flávio raised a corruption case involving one of Lula's sons, accused him of "reckless spending to get re-elected," and offered a "mea culpa" on Jair Bolsonaro's Covid record. Jair is serving a 27-year house-arrest sentence for a botched coup after his 2022 loss. About 33 million voters abstained in the first round. The debate also covered public security, healthcare, economics, prisoner furloughs, the rachadinha scandal, R$134 million in film financing about Jair, and alleged links to banker Daniel Vorcaro. CONTESTED: Lula's campaign accused Meta of restricting his Instagram account and favoring Bolsonaro's profile; Meta attributed issues to technical glitches and denied bias. The campaign reportedly took the allegations to the UN and Federal Police.