Brazil runoff election: Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro play dirty in very tough debate

The president Jair Bolsonaro and former President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva They played dirty in a very tough debate this Sunday, two weeks before the second round of the Brazilian elections.

The debate, in a very loose format, allowed the two candidates to have a long dialectical exchange of views, resulting in constant clashes that were not lacking in low blows, lies, insults, and profanity.

But there was also no awkward silence and some laughter between the opponents, who debated without a pulpit, face to face, even making physical contact at one point when Bolsonaro put his hand on Lula’s shoulder after the irony of the former trade unionist.

Pandemic and corruption attacks

Lula bored Bolsonaro mainly with his criticisms of the management of the pandemic, the severe economic situation facing the poorest, or the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

On the other hand, Bolsonaro embarrassed Lulu, mainly by referring to corruption in the Labor Party (PT) governments between 2003 and 2016.

“Petrobras was the biggest corruption scandal in human history. They plundered 90 billion reais (about $18 billion). You put money up your ass and shared it with your friends,” Bolsonaro snapped at Lulu in one of the debate’s bleakest moments.

Lula admitted that there was corruption in the state oil company, but assured that everything was exposed thanks to the transparency of his government (2003-2010).

Latin American Left

The far-right leader has taken advantage of the last stretch of the debate to reveal Lula’s relationship with Latin American presidents such as Nicaraguan Daniel Ortega, Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro, Colombian Gustavo Petro or Argentine Alberto Fernandez, whom he links to communism.

He spent more time criticizing Ortega, especially for the arrests of priests, the closing of churches and the media.

The former trade unionist said that the political situation in Nicaragua should be resolved by the Nicaraguans, although he left a message for Daniel Ortega.

“If someone thinks he is needed, a dictator is born. But if Ortega makes a mistake, let the Nicaraguan people punish him. If Maduro makes a mistake, let the Venezuelan people punish him,” he said. Lula da Silva.

He also mentioned Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s UN speech in defense of cocaine decriminalization, linking him to Lula, who has never advocated drug legalization.

Insults from both sides

Insults set the tone for the discussion and stood out among the government’s proposals.

Lula da Silva He called Bolsonaro a “little dictator”, a “liar” and “insolent”, while the current head of state called his predecessor a “national disgrace” and a “thief”.

In a tongue-in-cheek tone, Lula snapped at Bolsonaro, an army reserve captain, that when he was second-in-command, he “flattered” him and was “proud” of being president for the way he treated the military.

The controversy unleashed this Sunday by some of Bolsonaro’s statements that caused a stir, in which he used a colloquial phrase that could be understood as being attracted to some 14-year-old Venezuelan girls who were involved in prostitution, also came to light. in debate.

The case was first cited by a conservative leader, who complained that the opposition used these statements to accuse him of pederasty, touching on the “most painful” issue of protecting the family.

Later, Lula, without directly addressing the case, said that everyone who knows him knows what he did, and opined that “he must have a very heavy conscience for what he did” because last night he got out of bed to refute allegations of pederasty.

Brazilians will return to the polls on October 30 to choose between Lula and Bolsonaro.

In the first round of elections held on 2 October, Lula was the candidate with the most votes, with 48.4%, compared to 43.2% of the vote received by Bolsonaro.

(As reported by EFE)