Brazil’s Top Presidential Hopefuls Skip Scheduled TV Debate Before Vote

SAO PAULO — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and opposition candidate Flávio Bolsonaro declined to participate in a planned televised debate ahead of the first‑round election, leaving 158 million voters without a direct showdown.

The debate, organized by TV Globo—the nation’s most‑watched broadcaster—was set for Thursday and represented the last chance for the two frontrunners to meet before polls open on Sunday.

Their withdrawal marks the first time in two decades that Brazil’s leading candidates have avoided any public confrontation. Other outlets and business groups have held debates with additional candidates since August 23.

Lula announced on Wednesday he would not attend the TV Globo debate, which was to include Bolsonaro and two other candidates. Hours before the scheduled start in Rio de Janeiro, Bolsonaro—son of former President Jair Bolsonaro—also withdrew.

TV Globo said the cancellation stemmed from two rulings—one from the country’s electoral court and another from Brazil’s Supreme Court—that created legal uncertainty about proceeding with the event.

The first ruling ordered the network to remove an empty seat reserved for Lula, who would have been the focal point of questions from his rivals. The second ruling compelled the broadcaster to add candidate Renan Santos, a critic of the president and the leading opposition contender.

Analysts note that both Lula and Bolsonaro have been steering clear of direct on‑stage confrontations ahead of the first round, though they are still expected to clash in the three weeks leading to a possible Oct. 25 runoff.

Recent polls show the two men as the only candidates with a realistic shot at reaching the second round or winning outright. Each delivered separate online broadcasts at the same time the debate was slated to air.

Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in São Paulo, observed that the frontrunners’ boycott and the collapse of a once‑high‑stakes debate illustrate the turbulence of this election cycle.

“Lula and Flávio would be torn apart by the other candidates. There’s no genuine debate on ideas or policy anymore; it’s turned into a brawl, a display of disrespect,” Melo said. “Flávio provoked Lula into accepting the debate, where Lula would have faced four opponents. In the end, Flávio realized it could backfire on him as well.”

“Participating in debates has become a strategic calculation in Brazil. For those who believe they have a stronger chance of advancing to the runoff, skipping a major debate is a way to avoid missteps and ceding ground,” he added.

On Wednesday, Lula reiterated his longstanding excuse for avoiding pre‑first‑round debates.

“You can’t put someone polling at 49 percent on stage with someone at 1 percent,” he said.

During a live broadcast Thursday on his social‑media channels, Bolsonaro claimed his last‑minute withdrawal was due to “censorship imposed by the electoral court,” referring to the decision that barred TV Globo from keeping Lula’s empty seat onstage.

“I invited you to debate, Lula, more than twice. You ran away. We want to debate you, to put the truth in your face,” Bolsonaro declared.

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