Brazil’s presidential candidates traded barbs in the first debate ahead of Sunday’s runoff, with polls showing a technical tie. Incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had avoided debating challenger Flávio Bolsonaro — the son of a former president jailed for staging a coup — but the rightist’s first-round victory put the president on the back foot.
Though the pair are neck-and-neck, Brazil’s political system has already shifted to the right: Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party is now the biggest in both chambers of Congress and has won several governorships. A Bolsonaro win would also confirm Latin America’s broader rightward turn, giving the Trump administration another key ally as it vies to outmuscle China across the region.
