Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party (PL, right), who is seeking re-election, and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-2010) of the Workers’ Party (PT, left) held their final televised debate on Friday night before the second round of elections scheduled for Sunday.
The debate, broadcast by the Globo television network, allowed voters to compare the proposals of the candidates and their respective governments and make their own voting decision.
The debate lasted more than two hours and covered topics including wage policy, poverty reduction, health, education, security, foreign policy and the environment.
The activity consisted of five blocks, two with free topics, two with fixed topics and one with final reflections.
President Bolsonaro tried to reinforce the rejection of the Petista leader by accusing the latter’s governments of corruption and deterioration of public security.
At the same time, Lula da Silva reiterated that the current government has cut workers’ incomes and criticized the policies to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
The issue that opened the first block, the issue of wages and purchasing power, took up most of the time.
Bolsonaro promised that if re-elected, he would raise the minimum wage to 1,400 reais (US$260), a 15 percent increase.
Lula da Silva said that if he won, he would resume the policy of annual minimum wage adjustments that allowed a natural increase of more than 70 percent during his two terms in office.
As in previous debates, each candidate sought to destabilize their opponent, and both dismissed their opponent’s arguments as untrue on numerous occasions.
In his closing remarks, Lula da Silva said the best time Brazil had ever experienced was “probably” during his administration.
“People were working, their wages were rising above the rate of inflation every year,” he stressed, saying the country must move away from hatred and confusion and enter a period of greater harmony and job creation.
Finally, he urged voters to vote for him to “put the country back together and people can eat well again”.
Bolsonaro thanked God and affirmed that he was ready to serve another term as president of the republic if it was the will of the people.
He said that the election was a choice between “living in freedom or not”, that his candidacy was in defense of the Brazilian family and spoke against abortion and drug legalization.
The president said he was confident of winning on Sunday and ended with his famous slogan, “Brazil above all, God above all.”
In the first round of voting, former president Lula da Silva received 57.2 million votes, representing 48.43 percent of valid votes.
Bolsonaro received 51 million votes, representing 43.20 percent of valid votes.
