President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro met face to face for the first time in Brazil's presidential campaign on Sunday night, in a televised debate hosted by Band TV in São Paulo, The Rio Times reports. The run-off vote is on 25 October.
Lula, of the Workers' Party, defended his economic record, pointing to Brazil's credit ratings, its repayment of IMF debt and its foreign reserves. Flávio, of the Liberal Party, focused on household costs such as food and debt, called Brazil's public debt a record high and promised to free up more than R$200 billion in the federal budget. The Rio Times says no poll had yet measured the debate's effect on voters, while betting markets continued to favour Flávio.
Source: The Rio Times
