Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and right-winger Flavio Bolsonaro clashed in a final televised Brazil presidential debate on Friday, October 23, 2026, two days before a runoff on Sunday. The candidates are tied in polling.
According to The Hindu, the final debate was more diplomatic than the first, though neither candidate held back on cutting remarks. A Datafolha survey published October 22, 2026 showed each candidate at 50% of voting intentions.
The sharpest exchange concerned Lula’s hand. According to The Hindu, Flavio Bolsonaro mocked the finger Lula lost as a metalworker. Lula replied that he would not allow "a militiaman" to call him "nine fingers", and Flavio Bolsonaro apologised.
Agencia Brasil reported that Lula said he lost his left little finger in 1964, at age 17, while working as a mechanical turner.
Agencia Brasil also reported that Flavio Bolsonaro cited a public debt of R$11 trillion, a reference to Brazil’s gross general government debt measured by the central bank. He said he would use Caixa Econômica Federal to buy and refinance bank debts.
On homelessness, Agencia Brasil, citing the Observatorio Brasileiro de Políticas Públicas com a População em Situação de Rua, reported 365,800 homeless people in December 2025, a 55% rise from 2022. Flavio Bolsonaro said the homeless population had doubled, a 100% increase, under Lula’s government. Researchers said the growth may partly reflect differences in counting methods, active search and the inclusion of vulnerable people in social policies. No response from either campaign to the figures was reported.
According to The Hindu, Lula’s campaign accused Meta of "interference" in favour of Flavio Bolsonaro. Meta denied favouring either side but acknowledged that some Lula campaign ads were mistakenly deactivated due to technical errors.
Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, is a senator and son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence for attempting a coup after losing the 2022 election to Lula. Lula, 80, is seeking reelection. The result could either join a regional shift to the right championed by U.S. President Donald Trump or keep Brazil a left-wing stronghold. The first debate, five days earlier, was loaded with insults and largely empty of concrete policy proposals.
The sources have gaps. Japan Times was available only as a headline and short excerpt, so its account is limited. Lula’s claim about a R$15 billion debt renegotiation affecting 4.5 million people is not independently confirmed, and neither is Flavio Bolsonaro’s R$11 trillion figure. Meta’s and X’s responses to an electoral court order were not reported.
Brazilians vote in the presidential runoff on Sunday, October 25, 2026. The electoral court’s review of Meta and X content policies is also pending.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.