“Liar”, “delinquent”, “thief”, “element”, “insane”, “abortionist” were some of the adjectives thrown like darts between President Jair Bolsonaro and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da SIlva in the tense final debate by the Globo television channel before Sunday’s ballot.
Lula, favorite in the polls and winner of the first round, was calmer and with a less aggressive profile, seeking and inquiring his rival about his government programs, while Bolsonaro chose to reheat old controversies trying to reduce the difference of six million votes.
“We are talking about a liar who has told 6,489 lies in his government, he is a provocateur who has nothing real,” Lula assured. “I ask for your vote to restore democracy in this country,” stressed the former president, who argued that Bolsonaro’s Brazil is an international pariah “more isolated than Cuba.”
In a fury, Bolsonaro asked for the vote for “new federal deputy mandate”.
The debate found two contenders at different speeds: Bolsonaro throwing messy blows and without much destination during the first two hours and Lula winning the center of the ring, with more calm and emphasizing the behavior of respect for the presidential investiture.