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In the first debate of the runoff, Lula warned Senator Flávio Bolsonaro that investigations are coming for him once he loses his immunity. “Get ready, because on the 25th you will lose your immunity and you will have problems, because your life has many inquiries that will now move forward”, Lula told the Senator during the Band TV debate Sunday night, according to Revista Oeste. “If your friends do not let them move now they will”, Lula added. Lula also called Supreme Court Justice André Mendonça, who oversees the Dark Horse case, a “friend” of the senator, the outlet reported.
The debate ended without a clear winner. However, analysts told BBC News Brasil that Flávio Bolsonaro was the one setting the agenda. The debate between President Lula and Senator Flávio took place on Band TV on Sunday evening Brasília time and lasted roughly two hours. One week before the vote, October 25, it was the candidates’ first direct encounter.
The format of the first block of the debate had both candidates speak freely for 15 minutes each without any moderation. The atmosphere was of a free-confrontation debate and was not very good for undecided voters, since in such a format the candidate who attacks the most is the one who is heard the most, instead of the one who presents the best proposals.
The biggest issue of the night was money. Lula pressed Flávio Bolsonaro over R$134 million negotiated by the Senator with the banker in jail, Daniel Vorcaro of Banco Master, to finance a film about ex-President Jair Bolsonaro. The matter is also the subject of a Federal Police inquiry. Flávio Bolsonaro on the other hand kept bringing up the issue of money with respect to Lula’s son, Fábio Luís, or “Lulinha” as he is known, and a lobbyist tied to the INSS pension fraud investigation. Lula said he believes in his son’s innocence.
Lula also requested that the bank and phone accounts of both candidates be opened, to be handed over to the Supreme Court President and the Electoral Court’s President before the election. The senator replied that he has nothing to hide and said again that Lula’s money is off-book. Flávio also fired back at Lula’s phrase “malandro carioca,” which he found offensive to the people of Rio de Janeiro, and analysts said the remark hurt Lula.
In terms of security, Flávio stuck to his script on crime, which tried to link Lula to saidinhas (special leaves of absence that inmates with good behavior can take to visit their families). Lula, on the other hand, defended saidinhas for inmates with good behavior and said that the purpose of prison is to reeducate people, not to punish them.
Analysts interviewed by BBC News Brasil agreed that the debate did not swing the elections in either direction and could ultimately result in more abstentions or blank or null ballots. Yuri Sanches, political analysis director at polling firm AtlasIntel, said Flávio spoke more clearly and scored more points than Lula, who looked repetitive and somewhat lost. Lucas Aragão, of consultancy Arko Advice, said Flávio kept moving the debate to his own terrain. Rafael Cortez, of Tendências Consultoria, said Lula presented nothing new that could change the race, and he described Flávio’s tone as “mocking and cynical.”
