REPORT LULA-BOLSONARO DEBATE 23 OCT. 2026 21.51

By AI Chat-Human Synthesis-23 October 2026

RECORDED SNIPPETS FROM THE DEBATE

Bolsonaro

Good evening, my fellow candidate. Well, we took over Brazil in 2019 with around 14,000 unfinished projects. And despite all the problems, we handed Brazil back with a little over 8,000 unfinished projects. Now, this year, the TCU, the Federal Court of Accounts, has just released a report stating that there are more than 11,500 stalled projects under the current government. In other words, Brazil has once again become a vast graveyard of unfinished construction projects. Candidate, how are you going to manage to deliver all the infrastructure shown on this map when, in four years, you failed to complete the necessary projects?

I thank God for the opportunity to have taken part in a debate at such a special moment for this country. I believe that if the candidate knew a little about Brazil, he would know that at no point in the country's history has so much been invested in infrastructure projects as we have invested in recent years. Just to give you an idea, with the participation of all state governors, regardless of their political parties, we announced the Growth Acceleration Programme, worth 1.7 trillion reais, of which almost 800 billion reais has already been spent in this country. This includes railways, highways, waterways, roads, ports and airports, so that we can transform Brazil into a major food-producing nation — a truly major food-producing nation.

And my opponent knows that whatever he manages to accomplish in infrastructure, we will achieve three or four times as much as his government does. More importantly, he should also know that we inherited 6,000 stalled projects. And, obviously, you cannot complete an infrastructure project in the same year you begin the work.I will carry on, because I am going to win the election....

Part reply Lula

From the country's government. He wants to know what the minimum wage would be today if the adjustment policy adopted by them and other trade unions had been followed. They only considered increases for pensioners, active workers earning the minimum wage, retirees, public servants, and governments. That is why we have reached R$1,300, whereas the minimum wage would have been R$900. But I would like to finish with another question for him, because I want to know whether he is prepared to face someone who is dismantling these policies.

Recently, I presented my proposal for zero-fare public transport. I said that, just as we have approved a measure giving workers two days at home, it is only fair that we guarantee them the right to visit their relatives, see their children and godparents, and have a meal at someone else's home—in other words, the freedom to leave their own homes.But he rejected my proposal. So we proposed zero-fare public transport for workers on weekends.I want to ask the candidate: Are you for or against free public transport for workers on weekend..

Bolsonaro

Industry has gone downhill. That’s why you go to the supermarket and find that a one-kilogram packet of washing powder, which used to contain one kilogram, now contains only 800 grams but is advertised as doing the work of a kilogram. Do you know why? Because manufacturers have to reduce the amount of product they put into their packaging. A chocolate bar that used to weigh 120 grams now weighs just 80 grams. A toilet paper roll that used to contain 40 metres now contains only 20. It’s getting difficult to buy things. And when you do manage to buy them, you’re taking less home with you.

That is the legacy of the current government. Why have you reduced Brazilians’ purchasing power? Why have things become so expensive? After four years of government, can you buy more or less with your salary? So there’s no point in simply wanting to increase the minimum wage. I will raise the minimum wage by more than inflation to counter your fake news. I will not allow our economy to be built on the backs of the poorest people. Instead, I will put this government’s finances in order so that you can regain your purchasing power. You will once again have money in your pocket.

Part Reply Lula

The amount of investment in family farming during my four years in government — all four years. I challenge you to show me whether there has ever been such an incentive for purchasing machinery for family farmers as the one we provided. So here is the point: Brazil has never exported so much. That is why, when Trump came along wanting to impose tariffs on Brazil, I wasn’t worried. I wasn’t born afraid of someone giving me a dirty look. If Trump wants to buy from Brazil, I’ll sell to him.

We opened up 700 new markets for Brazilian products and increased exports to 57 countries by an average of tenfold. That is why our trade surplus reached almost 85 billion reais. But let me make just one point so you can understand the nonsense this young man says when he takes part in a debate. Hey, young man, I just want to know what prejudice you, candidate, have against young people...

Bolsonaro

Because of this, people lost everything and were abandoned by the government. I am your president, and I will stand alongside Doris Boehs and, above all, Doris Muniz. I will help the governor of Rio Grande do Sul rebuild the state and get it out of the debt crisis that is preventing investment in its cities. I will help fund the purchase and installation of water pumps to prevent this from happening again in the cities near Porto Alegre, where large volumes of rainwater accumulate and flow into the region.

We must ensure that this never happens again. I will help rebuild Porto Alegre and construct floodgates to prevent flooding in Porto Alegre and other affected cities. I will do everything within my power. So, sir, you can count on me. You too, Moro, the governor-elect of Paraná, can count on me. My fellow citizens of Paraná will have a president who will help Moro transform Paraná into a great fortress, as he spoke about so often during the election campaign. We will work together, Moro, to combat the arms and drug trafficking routes that pass through the Port of Paranaguá, for example.

We will mobilise the Navy, the relevant forces and your elite troops to ensure proper inspection and enforcement, so that the port is no longer used for these criminal activities.I also want you, Jorginho, to work closely with me to ensure investment in all the federal highways (BR routes) that run through Santa Catarina.

Part Reply Lula

I don’t know him. I think the only thing he has heard about Madeira and the northern region was when his father appeared on television laughing and imitating a person dying of suffocation because there was no oxygen. Perhaps that is his only image of the state of Amazonas: his father laughing at someone dying because of a lack of oxygen. Because if he knew Amazonas and knew everything we have been doing in the Amazon region, he could ask the senators and also ask Google. If you don’t know, ask Google everything we have done in the Amazon over the last 24 hours. You will see.”

END