Trending 
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro engaged in a final, slightly more diplomatic television debate Friday ahead of Sunday’s presidential runoff.
Despite debating core topics like the economy, infrastructure, and spending cuts, both candidates traded sharp personal attacks as polls projected a dead heat at 50 per cent each.
Lula attacked the 45-year-old senator’s lack of experience, asserting that Bolsonaro “doesn’t know what hunger is,” while Bolsonaro blamed the incumbent for leaving behind a “broken country” and questioned why basic goods remain so expensive.
The tense encounter featured personal insults alongside policy disputes over government spending and national security.
Bolsonaro mocked the president’s missing digit, prompting Lula to declare he would not allow a “militiaman” to insult him, referencing alleged links between the senator’s family and paramilitary groups in Rio de Janeiro.
When Lula challenged Bolsonaro’s proposal to execute aggressive, “chainsaw” spending cuts similar to those of Argentina’s Javier Milei, Bolsonaro defended his austerity stance, promising to slash government expenses and add 500,000 prison beds to tackle national crime.
Read More : Lula, Bolsonaro to Face Off in First Debate
The fierce campaign continues to face heavy legal battles and allegations of social media interference just days before voters decide Brazil’s political future.
Lula’s campaign accused Meta of algorithmic manipulation after political advertisements were deactivated, prompting Brazil’s electoral court to order both Meta and X to explain their distribution criteria and artificial intelligence usage within 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Bolsonaro’s camp accused Lula’s team of leveraging public resources and digital structures to improperly influence the election outcome.
