Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro exchanged insults and corruption allegations during a tense televised debate as they sought to sway voters ahead of a runoff election on Oct. 30.
The event organized by Band TV was the first time the two leading candidates met alone face to face, giving them plenty of time to attack each other, as they did not have to share airtime with five other contestants who joined debates before the first-round vote of the presidential election on Oct. 2.
It was a key moment for candidates to reach millions of voters in the final stretch of a tight presidential election, when every vote counts. Both have rushed to secure the backing of contestants who did not make it to the second round, as well as key state governors and mayors who may rally supporters in their states and municipalities. Over the past week, Lula and Bolsonaro crisscrossed Brazil’s northeast to court poor voters.
Photo: AFP
The debate started with the men trying to explain where they would find money to deliver on the promises they have made during the campaign, including more generous cash handouts of 600 reals (US$113) per month to poor people. Both cited a tax reform proposal as part of a strategy to boost government revenue. Bolsonaro said some of the funds obtained with privatizations would also be diverted to fund social programs. Lula said he would reduce the tax burden on poor people and increase it on the wealthy.
It was one of the few times the economy would come into play in the two-hour debate. A long discussion about Bolsonaro’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic ensued, leaving the president visibly uncomfortable in some occasions. Both called each other a “liar” and “corrupt” several times.
“You’re a liar, the king of fake news,” Lula said. “You discredited vaccines, mocked people dying from lack of oxygen; nobody in the world made fun of the pandemic and death like you did.”
Bolsonaro responded, saying that Lula “did nothing for the country.”
“You only diverted public funds to your pocket and those of your friends,” he said.
Asked whether they would respect the separation of powers and refrain from sponsoring bills to increase the number of justices in the nation’s top court, Lula said that making changes in the court’s composition to appoint friends would be a setback.
However, he conceded that a fixed mandate for the judges instead of lifetime terms could be discussed.
Bolsonaro, who has clashed with Brazilian Supreme Court justices throughout his years in office, coming close to an institutional crisis in some occasions, promised not to sponsor any bill to increase the number of court members.
Lula, who governed the country from 2003 to 2010, won the first round of the vote with 48 percent support. Bolsonaro took 43 percent. Since neither clinched the simple majority needed to win outright, they face off again on Oct. 30.
Lula continues to lead the presidential race although some pollsters say the results would be even tighter than in the first round, when most failed to fully capture support for the right-wing president.
China’s military news agency yesterday warned that Japanese militarism is infiltrating society through series such as Pokemon and Detective Conan, after recent controversies involving events at sensitive sites. In recent days, anime conventions throughout China have reportedly banned participants from dressing as characters from Pokemon or Detective Conan and prohibited sales of related products. China Military Online yesterday posted an article titled “Their schemes — beware the infiltration of Japanese militarism in culture and sports.” The article referenced recent controversies around the popular anime series Pokemon, Detective Conan and My Hero Academia, saying that “the evil influence of Japanese militarism lives on in
ANTI-SEMITISM: Some newsletters promote hateful ideas such as white supremacy and Holocaust denial, with one describing Adolf Hitler as ‘one of the greatest men of all time’ The global publishing platform Substack is generating revenue from newsletters that promote virulent Nazi ideology, white supremacy and anti-Semitism, a Guardian investigation has found. The platform, which says it has about 50 million users worldwide, allows members of the public to self-publish articles and charge for premium content. Substack takes about 10 percent of the revenue the newsletters make. About 5 million people pay for access to newsletters on its platform. Among them are newsletters that openly promote racist ideology. One, called NatSocToday, which has 2,800 subscribers, charges US$80 for an annual subscription, although most of its posts are available
GLORY FACADE: Residents are fighting the church’s plan to build a large flight of steps and a square that would entail destroying up to two blocks of homes Barcelona’s eternally unfinished Basilica de la Sagrada Familia has grown to become the world’s tallest church, but a conflict with residents threatens to delay the finish date for the monument designed more than 140 years ago. Swathed in scaffolding on a platform 54m above the ground, an enormous stone slab is being prepared to complete the cross of the central Jesus Christ tower. A huge yellow crane is to bring it up to the summit, which will stand at 172.5m and has snatched the record as the world’s tallest church from Germany’s Ulm Minster. The basilica’s peak will deliberately fall short of the
Venezuelan Nobel peace laureate Maria Corina Machado yesterday said that armed men “kidnapped” a close ally shortly after his release by authorities, following former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro’s capture. The country’s Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed later yesterday that former National Assembly vice president Juan Pablo Guanipa, 61, was again taken into custody and was to be put under house arrest, arguing that he violated the conditions of his release. Guanipa would be placed under house arrest “in order to safeguard the criminal process,” the office said in a statement. The conditions of Guanipa’s release have yet to be made public. Machado claimed that
RSS