Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the PL presidential candidate, confirmed on Sunday (Sept. 27) that he will take part in the TV Globo debate on Thursday (Oct. 1), the last one before the first round of Brazil's presidential election. Speaking to reporters after a campaign caravan in Goiânia, he challenged President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party (PT) to show up.
"I'm going to the Globo debate. It's confirmed. Let him fight. I want to go there and debate him. I'm calling Lula to the debate: 'Lula, I want you at the Globo debate, come debate me, because I'm going to rub the truth in your face and show that my project for Brazil is better than yours'," the senator said, according to BBC News Brasil and InfoMoney.
If the decision stands, it will be Flávio's first debate appearance of the campaign. Neither he nor Lula, the two candidates leading the polls, has attended any of the debates held so far.
A campaign of canceled debates
The 2026 race has seen its debate calendar shrink. Record canceled the debate scheduled for Sunday (Sept. 27) after both Lula and Flávio said they would skip it. The network said that without the candidates who hold most voter preferences, the program would not deliver the clash of ideas voters expect.
Another debate, set for Sept. 14 by a consortium of outlets including CNN Brasil, SBT and RedeTV!, was also canceled after the two front-runners failed to confirm attendance. The season opened on the Band network on Aug. 23 with Ronaldo Caiado (PSD), Augusto Cury (Avante) and Renan Santos (Missão), none of them a poll leader. In all, 13 presidential candidacies were registered with the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Brazil's top electoral authority.
Lula's attendance still open
BBC News Brasil tried to confirm Lula's presence and got no reply from his campaign. According to CNN Brasil, cited by the BBC, the president's team is weighing whether to attend. Until now, Flávio had said he would only join debates in which Lula took part.
The Globo debate, on Brazil's largest television network, will air right after the Jornal Nacional evening news, in the slot usually reserved for the 9 p.m. telenovela, with simultaneous broadcast on GloboNews and the g1 news site. The rules have not been released. The first round of the election is on Sunday (Oct. 4). If there is a runoff, Record has scheduled a debate between the top two vote-getters for Oct. 11.