TV debate on Brazil election escalates: Bolsonaro attacks journalist – "You are a disgrace!"

Created: 08/30/2022, 16:03

Brazil is experiencing a heated TV debate ahead of the presidential election.

There was a lot of tension between Bolsonaro and Lula in particular – the former also attacked a journalist.

Munich/São Paulo - Brazil will elect a new president on October 2nd.

The country is therefore faced with a choice of direction.

The first television debate with six of the twelve candidates took place on Sunday.

Among them are the unequal favorites, the far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and the ex-head of state Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has since been imprisoned.

There was no lack of heated arguments during the three-hour debate.

Bolsonaro and Lula accused each other of lying.

The incumbent president also caused trouble with sexist statements to a journalist.

Elections in Brazil - Heated debate between Bolsonaro and Lula

Bolsonaro called Lula a "thief" in his opening statement.

He accused the left-leaning ex-president: "His government was the most corrupt in Brazil's history." The politician from the Workers' Party (PT) rejected the incumbent's accusation.

He emphasized that many social reforms had been initiated during his reign from 2003 to 2010.

Bolsonaro is now in the process of "destroying" the country, Lula said.

Lula spent a long time in the first part of the debate on protecting the environment - particularly the Amazon rainforest.

According to the Brazilian space agency INPE, the destruction of the rainforest reached a record level in the first half of the year.

Ex-President and candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, candidate Simone Tebet and incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro at the TV debate.

© Andre Penner/picture alliance/dpa

Lula was imprisoned between April 2018 and November 2019 following a conviction on corruption charges.

In 2021, however, he received all political rights back.

Brazil's Supreme Court annulled the verdicts against him due to the court's lack of jurisdiction.

Lula repeatedly stressed that his innocence had been proven.

TV debate on the election in Brazil - Bolsonaro verbally attacks a journalist

Bolsonaro caused a scandal in the debate when he responded to a question from journalist Vera Magalhaes with massive allegations against her.

In her question, Magalhaes said that Bolsonaro was spreading misinformation about vaccinations against Covid-19.

An investigation against Bolsonaro was initiated in December last year.

At the time, the Brazilian President erroneously made a connection between the corona vaccination and AIDS in a video.

Bolsonaro then said to her, "Vera, you fall asleep thinking about me, you have a kind of crush." ​​He accused her of "false allegations" and said: "You are a disgrace to Brazilian journalism." The later ones Bolsonaro brushed aside allegations of misogyny by another candidate.

Presidential elections in Brazil: Polls see Lula ahead

In addition to Bolsonaro and Lula, ex-Finance Minister Ciro Gomes from the centre-left PDT party and Senator Simone Tebet from the centre-left MDB party also took part in the TV debate.

Polls currently see 76-year-old Lula clearly ahead of Bolsonaro ahead of the first round of elections on October 2nd.

According to a survey by the opinion research institute Datafolha, the ex-president can count on 47 percent of the votes.

The 67-year-old incumbent, however, only with 32 percent.

If none of the candidates wins more than 50 percent of the votes in the first ballot, a runoff will be held on October 30.

Lula has long been considered the great hope of Bolsonaro's opponents in Brazil.