SÃO PAULO – President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro met face to face for the first time in this campaign on Sunday night, in a debate marked by personal attacks, shouting from both delegations and repeated interventions by the moderators.

The October 25 presidential runoff is one week away.

The debate began at 8:15 p.m. at Band’s studios in São Paulo and ran for about two and a half hours. It was organized by TV outlet Band along with Estadão, Cultura, Gazeta and Jovem Pan. Adriana Araújo and Eduardo Oinegue moderated. It was divided into three blocks: questions from the moderators, direct exchanges between the candidates, and a 30-minute open exchange.

It was the first direct televised confrontation between the two.

Neither took part in the first-round debates, and Romeu Zema of the Novo party was invited but did not attend. The first round on October 4 left the race close: Flávio had 47.03% of valid votes and Lula 45.16%.

Right-wing candidate and Senator Flávio nearly skipped the event at first, stating that he would pull out of the debate, but then reversed course, confirming his participation after President Lula announced he would attend.

Highlights

Security. Flávio proposed classifying the PCC, the Comando Vermelho and militias as “narco-terrorist” organizations, building more than 500,000 prison facilities across the country and ending temporary prison releases (“saidinhas”). Lula diverted blame from the federal government, claiming states have failed on their own and promised a Ministry of Public Security if the Senate passes the government’s security constitutional amendment. Lula defended releases for well-behaved prisoners but excluded violent offenders.

The most important issues named by Brazilian voters remain crime and security.

Scandals. Much of the night turned on personal attacks. Flávio pressed Lula about businesswoman Roberta Luchsinger, who has claimed in an interview that Lula’s son Fábio Luís, known as “Lulinha,” was her partner. Lula said anyone under investigation would be investigated and said his son opened his bank and phone records voluntarily. He turned the question on Flávio, citing alleged links to “Careca do INSS,” a figure in the INSS payroll-fraud scandal.

Lula then challenged both candidates and their families to lift their bank and phone secrecy before the Supreme Court and the electoral court. Flávio replied that he had “absolutely nothing to hide.”

Banco Master. Lula asked about R$134 million negotiated for a Bolsonaro biopic. Flávio in return asked about a December 2024 meeting between Lula and Daniel Vorcaro, the banker behind the Banco Master case. “You made him a banker, and I made him a prisoner,” Lula said, according to Band.

Flávio credited Judge André Mendonça with the arrest.

Health. Senator Flávio proposed a single electronic health record, telemedicine and artificial intelligence in the public health system, saying he wants to bring the “Einstein standard” of the São Paulo hospital to the SUS.

President Lula asked whether that meant privatizing the SUS.

Lula also protested laughter and provocations from Flávio’s side, and the moderators cut one exchange short. Lula said about half of the more than 700,000 Covid deaths could have been avoided. Flávio acknowledged shortcomings in the health response under his father but defended the government’s decisions.

Economy & work. Flávio first said he was against ending the six-day work week and then said he would vote for ending it after hearing what people want. Lula cited food-inflation figures and investment under his industrial policy and promised a minimum-wage increase above inflation.

Foreign policy. Lula accused Flávio’s family of pushing President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on Brazil. Flávio said he traveled to the United States to defend Brazilian business.

Asked about Argentina’s Javier Milei, Lula cited poverty and unemployment figures, and Flávio did not say directly whether he would copy that model.

Instead he criticized Lula’s ties to Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega and Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.

The debate was full of contested statements. Examples include Flávio’s claim that Lula got 73% of prisoners’ votes in 2022 and the figures Lula gave on weapons and ammunition released under Jair Bolsonaro.

The debate was unlikely to change the race’s basic outline, and the candidates spent more time on each other’s scandals than on specific policy issues. The runoff is October 25, and Brazilian polls and fact-checkers will keep scrutinizing both campaigns’ claims in the final week.

Flávio also said that “infiltrators” would be identified for chants at a recent Paulista Avenue rally asking Trump to bomb Brazil, according to CNN Brasil.

The Bomb Scare

After the debate, a bomb scare mobilized São Paulo’s tactical police. It was a suspicion, not a threat: no message or caller was reported, and police later called it a false alarm.

According to Poder360, the Senate’s Legislative Police, who handle Flávio’s security, received an intelligence tip during the debate that an explosive device might be in a vehicle from one candidate’s fleet. Sniffer dogs reacted to chemical components near the hood of a car that had brought Flávio to Band. It was parked in the lobby area reserved for candidates’ convoys, CNN Brasil reported.

Police from the Military Police’s GATE unit isolated the area and searched the vehicle.

Responding units say they found no explosive device.

Captain Vitor Haddad, who commands GATE, said a component in the car misled the dogs and that the substances were “only mixtures that evaporated.”

“We can call it a false alarm to make it easier,” he said, per Poder360.

Police could not say which substance set off the dogs without a forensic report.

Both candidates had already left the building. Flávio left in a different car, with São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas.

Band’s presenters said staff did not need to leave the studio, though journalists and campaign staff were kept inside while police worked.

No injuries or arrests were reported.