Lula, Bolsonaro face off in first debate of bruising election

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil's leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro will go head-to-head Sunday in their first debate a week ahead of a bitter and divisive presidential election runoff.

Bolsonaro, 45, son of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, pulled off a shock first-round lead over Lula earlier this month, defying poll predictions.

The televised debate on Sunday evening is expected to be pivotal in a campaign marked by scandals and insults. Lula refused to attend a first-round showdown with his rival and other candidates.

Ahead of the battle of words, Flavio Bolsonaro will lead a campaign rally along Sao Paulo's Paulista Avenue.

Meanwhile, in Rio de Janeiro, iconic octogenarian singer Caetano Veloso has called a "rally for democracy" alongside dozens of other artists on Copacabana beach.

The event comes after a wave of demonstrations in major Brazilian cities that have re-energised a lackluster campaign by the country's left since the first-round result.

Students and social movements have swarmed the streets protesting the possibility of another far-right government under the rallying cry "Never Again Bolsonaro."

While Bolsonaro has been leading polls since the first round, his edge slightly narrowed in two polls this week which showed him with 51 per cent of voting intentions compared to 49 per cent for Lula.

In Lula's camp, there is an atmosphere of "restrained hope," and awareness that a very tough battle lies ahead, a government source said Friday, requesting anonymity.

- SOCIAL MEDIA BATTLE -

On the cusp of turning 81, Lula shook up his campaign for the second round, after admitting it had been the most "disorganised" he had taken part in in decades in politics.

He enlisted young leftist influencers to advise him on his social media strategy and began shooting video selfies in a bid to connect to voters.

Lula this week accused tech giant Meta of "interference" in the election by restricting his content on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and giving Bolsonaro's campaign an unfair advantage.

His campaign coalition said in a statement Saturday that it had asked electoral prosecutors and police to probe whether Bolsonaro's campaign had received economic benefits from Meta that could constitute an electoral offense.

The allegations were also referred to the UN's special rapporteur on freedom of expression.

Meta has denied taking sides in the election but acknowledged several technical glitches, including Lula's campaign advertising account being "mistakenly disabled" during an anti-fraud review.

- 'ELECTORAL OPPORTUNISM' -

Lula has unleashed a flurry of measures to win over voters.

On Wednesday, Congress approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing two days of paid rest per week instead of one, a campaign pledge by Lula that will benefit millions of workers.

Flavio Bolsonaro, who had fiercely criticised the measure, made a last-minute switch and voted in favour of it.

"He voted out of electoral opportunism," said Lula, who has said his rival is not fit to be "president of a neighborhood association."

Lula also announced debt forgiveness for microentrepreneurs, university scholarships and the removal of fuel taxes.

"Lula deceives people to get votes," Bolsonaro said in an interview on Friday.

Bolsonaro has doubled down on his tough-on-crime message at a time when security is voters' main concern.

"Those who think I'm radical on public security haven't seen anything yet," he said this week, adding that El Salvador's controversial model of mass incarceration of gang members "seems too mild."

The senator has promised several constitutional reforms, including limiting presidential mandates to one term. He has also vowed to free his father, who is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for plotting a coup after his failed 2022 election bid.

Lula's "Workers' Party no longer has the legitimacy to govern. There are too many lies, too much theft, too many scandals," said 60-year-old Luis Henrique Vilaba, at a Bolsonaro rally in Porto Alegre this week.--AFP