Bolsonaro renounces the television debate, Lula already absent: first round without direct confrontation
Quick Look
- Presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro withdrew from the Globo TV debate, the last debate before Sunday's vote, after the Superior Electoral Tribunal prohibited showing the empty pulpit reserved for Lula, who was already absent due to his own decision.
- It is the first time since the return to democracy that the two main candidates do not face each other in the last presidential debate.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Presidential elections in Brazil are approaching, with Lula and Bolsonaro as the main contenders according to the polls. The Globo television debate was scheduled as the last direct confrontation before Sunday's vote.
The candidate for the presidency of Brazil Flávio Bolsonaro, of the PL (liberal, right-wing party), has withdrawn from the Globo TV debate scheduled for this evening, the last confrontation before Sunday's vote. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had already announced his absence yesterday. For the first time since the return to democracy, therefore, the two candidates leading the polls will not face each other in the last debate before the vote.
According to the latest Datafolha poll, Lula has 45% and Flávio 40% of the valid votes in the first round. In total votes, the two are at 42% and 38% respectively. The research was carried out between September 29th and October 1st on 2,506 voters.
Flávio resigned after the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) prohibited Globo from showing the empty pulpit reserved for Lula. The candidate defined the measure as "censorship". The Minister of the Supreme Federal Court (Stf) Gilmar Mendes also intervened in the debate, ordering Globo to include Renan Santos, candidate of the Missão party and exponent of the far right. Santos had been excluded after the previous debate, in which he showed two diapers with the names of Lula and Flávio.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Voter turnout could be affected by the lack of debate between the main candidates
Possible · Within days
Open Questions
- How will the absence of both main candidates affect the outcome of the vote?
- What will be the voters' reaction to the TSE's decision to ban the exhibition of the empty pulpit?
- Will the Missão party gain greater visibility by being included in the debate?
