President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's sit-down with TV Globo, aired Thursday night (Aug. 27) right after Jornal Nacional, Brazil's most-watched evening newscast, spent Friday inside the fact-checkers' blender. The agency Lupa concluded that Lula got his facts wrong on GDP and on his relationship with lobbyist Roberta Luchsinger, a friend of his eldest son, known as Lulinha, and that he exaggerated when talking about fighting hunger and expanding the public university network. Aos Fatos followed the interview with a real-time fact-check, while Fato ou Fake, Globo's own verification team, published its #FATO/#FAKE roundup of his statements.
The interview, conducted live by anchors Renata Vasconcellos and César Tralli at Globo's studios in Rio de Janeiro, opened with the thorniest topic of the campaign: the three Federal Police inquiries targeting Lula's son. According to BBC News Brasil, Lula called the accusations "inferences" and promised his son would get no protection: "If Fábio committed any wrongdoing, he will have to pay like any Brazilian citizen." The candidate, who is seeking a fourth term, said he was "certain" his son would prove his innocence and ruled out interfering with the Federal Police.
Asked about Marco Aurélio Santana Ribeiro, his former chief of staff, who allegedly had R$ 249,000 in expenses paid by Luchsinger, according to police reports leaked to the press, Lula was blunt: "It is not appropriate. It is totally wrong." Still, he said he believed his former aide's explanation that the money was a personal loan, and admitted to being "very depressed and very upset" about the episode. On the economy, he ruled out privatizing the postal service, which has racked up R$ 15 billion in losses over four years, blaming its crisis on competition from private delivery companies.
Reaction outside the studio
Off screen, the interview made noise on both sides of Brazil's political divide. Veja magazine reported that even the father of pop star Anitta was outraged by how the network treated Lula. On the opposite end, UOL columnist Fabíola Cidral reported that an ally of Flávio Bolsonaro, the senator son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, described Globo's interview series as "gunfire, punching and bombing," saying he "does not understand the media." In an election year, the format managed to displease supporters of both camps.
For anyone who missed it or wants to rewatch: the presidential interviews air after Jornal Nacional, live on Globo and also on the g1 news portal and the GloboNews cable channel, with full replays available on g1's website. The series runs through Saturday (Aug. 29): Flávio Bolsonaro was interviewed on Friday (28) and Augusto Cury, of the small Avante party, closes the round.