The leftist leader to become Brazil’s next president labeled far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro “a little dictator” and “the king of fake news and stupidity” during a televised debate that will help define the political future of one of the largest democracies.
Brazil’s former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who narrowly beat Bolsonaro in the first round of the presidential election in September, admonished his opponent over his handling of Covid and growing deforestation in the Amazon during the fight two hours
“The fact is that your negligence ensured that 680,000 people died, more than half of whom could have been saved,” Lula told Bolsonaro, whose sabotage of coronavirus containment measures and vaccination efforts have cause worldwide outrage.
“Never before in history was there a government that fooled itself with a pandemic or with death like you did,” Lula, 76, said of Bolsonaro, who dismissed Covid as “a little flu” and claims that he has not been vaccinated.
Lula, who polls give a five- to six-point lead over Bolsonaro ahead of the Oct. 30 runoff, also attacked his rival’s attack on the environment. “You showed no respect for the Amazon, none at all,” Lula said, promising to create a ministry for native peoples if elected.
“We win this election so we can take care of the Amazon and outlaw the encroachment of indigenous lands and illegal mining.”
Bolsonaro hit back in what was the first face-to-face debate between the two politicians during this year’s contentious power struggle.
The far-right radical, who was elected in 2018 after Lula was jailed on corruption charges that were later overturned, blasted his opponent for the corruption scandals that ruined the 14 years that his Party of Workers (PT) came to power from 2003 to 2016. “You are a national shame,” Bolsonaro declared during the debate in Brazil’s largest city, São Paulo.
Bolsonaro accused Lula of cozying up to left-wing autocrats, including the leaders of Nicaragua and Venezuela, Daniel Ortega and Nicolás Maduro. But Lula rejected those accusations, arguing that it was Bolsonaro, a former soldier known for celebrating dictators like Chile’s General Augusto Pinochet, who posed a threat to Brazil’s fledgling democracy.
“My opponent is basically the most shameless liar there is,” Lula said. “I am the one who stands for democracy and freedom, much more than this little dictator… I want to rule this country democratically as I have done twice before,” said the former union leader, who ruled from 2003 to 2010.
Brazilian progressives had expected Lula to score a landslide victory over Bolsonaro in the first round of the election, but the populist who admired Donald Trump fared better than most polls had predicted, winning 43% of the vote to 48 % of Lula. Polls had predicted that Bolsonaro would receive no more than 37%.
Lula remains the favorite to win, but Bolsonaro’s better-than-expected performance means the election is likely to remain tight until the results are announced.
In recent days, both candidates have embarked on a campaign blitz in the three southeastern states that should decide the outcome, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Together they are home to nearly 64 million of Brazil’s 156 million voters.
Last week, Lula visited one of Rio’s largest favelas, the Complexo do Alemão, in an attempt to win over working-class voters.
Bolsonaro risked alienating hundreds of thousands of favela residents during Sunday’s debate by suggesting Lula had visited the community to socialize with criminals. “There were no police around you, only drug traffickers,” Bolsonaro said, sparking outrage from favela activists.
“Bolsonaro does not like the poor. Bolsonaro doesn’t like blacks. Bolsonaro doesn’t like those in the favela,” tweeted Rene Silva, the Complexo do Alemão media activist who organized Lula’s visit to the favela.