- Published
Brazil's left-wing President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and his right-wing rival, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, have clashed in a debate held one week before the run-off presidential election.
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President → publish → election
Polls suggest the two candidates are neck and neck and the televised debate was hailed as a chance for both to sway undecided voters.
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both → suggest → voters
But the showdown was marked by personal attacks and analysts have warned that its aggressive tone may increase the abstention rate further.
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tone → mark → rate
In the first round of voting, held on 4 October, Bolsonaro defied opinion polls by securing a narrow lead over Lula.
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Bolsonaro → hold → Lula
The second is planned for Friday, just two days before polls open.
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polls → plan → Friday
Flávio Bolsonaro is standing for the Liberal Party after his father, Jair Bolsonaro - who governed from 2018 to 2022 - was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for plotting to overthrow Lula after the latter beat him in the 2022 election.
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latter → stand → election
The younger Bolsonaro won 47% of the vote in the first round, compared with Lula's 45.2%, with both falling short of the 50% of the valid votes needed to stave off a decisive second round.
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both → win → round
Since the return to democracy in 1988, there has been no instance in which the candidate who lost in the first round went on to win in the second but Lula has told his supporters that he will "win in extra time".
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he → lose → time
Analysts consulted by BBC News Brasil were struck by how much the debate was dominated not by issues but personal attacks.
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debate → consult → issues
Yuri Sanches from pollsters AtlasIntel said it was a debate in which no policies were discussed and there were no rational arguments.
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policies → say → which
"The independent voter, who is sometimes against Bolsonaro and sometimes against the Workers' Party [of Lula], came out of it with a very negative impression."
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who → come → impression
Lucas Aragão from political analysis firm Arko Advice said Bolsonaro had appeared calmer during the debate and seemed to have managed to "get under Lula's skin".
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Bolsonaro → say → skin
Rafael Cortez from consulting firm da Tendências Consultoria, however, argued that Lula had managed to score a goal when he said he would open up his financial and phone records and those of his family to judicial scrutiny, and challenged his rival to do the same before Sunday's run-off.
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he → consult → off
Many observers criticised the format of the debate, which was described as chaotic at times, with each of the candidates pacing around the TV studio as the other was speaking.
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other → criticise → studio
One heated exchange saw Bolsonaro telling Lula he should come stand next to him so that the two could talk.
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two → see → him
Referring to alleged links between the senator and paramilitary vigilante groups, Lula said "I don't want to be close to you", and that he wanted to maintain "distance from the Bolsonaro family" and "the militia".
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he → refer → family
Bolsonaro, who has dismissed the allegations as fake news, in turn tried to bait Lula by saying, "On second thoughts, maybe it's better to keep my distance so that my wallet isn't stolen."
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wallet → dismiss → distance
He also accused the Workers' Party of being corrupt, holding up the palm of his hand on which he had scribbled "CORRUPTO" (Portuguese for "corrupt).
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he → accuse → corrupt
"Take a piece of paper and a pen and jot down 'corrupt' and you'll see that it has two letters in the middle here together," he said, pointing to PT, the initials of the Workers' Party in Portuguese.
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he → take → Portuguese
Bolsonaro, who is campaigning on a iron-fist approach to crime, challenged Lula to explain why crime rates had gone up during his four years in power.
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rates → campaign → power
He also alleged, without providing any evidence, that "the majority of convicts vote for Lula".
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majority → allege → Lula
Lula shot back with a thinly veiled reference to Flávio's convicted father, Jair, saying; "I wish it was 100%, even your father".
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it → shoot → father
The Aporia
