Brazil Run-Off Polls Show Deadlock Before Sunday Vote

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and challenger Flavio Bolsonaro met in Rio de Janeiro on Friday for the final debate of Brazil's presidential campaign, two days before the Oct. 26 run-off. The encounter was broadcast on TV Globo.

A Datafolha institute survey released Thursday showed both candidates at 50 percent, erasing the four-point lead Bolsonaro held in polls two weeks earlier. Bolsonaro led the opening round on Oct. 4 with 47 percent against Lula's 45 percent.

The exchange centered on spending, infrastructure and regional development. Lula criticized his opponent's plan to apply a "chainsaw" to public spending and drew a comparison with Argentina's president, Javier Milei. "I'll have the same job here [as Milei in Argentina] because you're leaving the country bankrupt," Bolsonaro said.

Bolsonaro, a senator and the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, accused Lula of letting organized crime expand, pushing families into debt and failing to lower the cost of living. Lula replied, "He doesn't know what hunger is," and added, "He doesn't know Brazil." Bolsonaro asked, "Why are things so expensive?"

The debate included personal exchanges. Bolsonaro used the nickname "Nine Fingers" for Lula, referring to an accident the president suffered while working as a metalworker. The 80-year-old president requested an apology, which Bolsonaro provided. Lula then called Bolsonaro a vigilante, citing allegations of ties to paramilitary groups in Rio de Janeiro; Bolsonaro said he would classify such groups as "narcoterrorists". A third exchange involved the mother of a five-year-old killed in a shootout that included a police officer whose lawyer was Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro said he does not believe his client was guilty.

The tone was more diplomatic than the first meeting between the two on Sunday. Both candidates plan to join supporters in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo ahead of Sunday's vote.

Bolsonaro finished first in the opening round on Oct. 4 with 47 percent to Lula's 45 percent. The Datafolha survey published Thursday put the two level at 50 percent each.