Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro face off in final presidential debate before runoff

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro meet in the final televised presidential debate before the second round of the election on Sunday, October 25. The encounter takes place at Globo Studios in Rio de Janeiro starting at 9:20 p.m. on Friday, October 23, and is mediated by journalist César Tralli.

The debate is broadcast simultaneously by TV Globo, GloboNews, g1, and Globoplay, with the full program available afterward on the g1 portal. Revista Fórum provides special coverage, including real-time fact-checking assisted by artificial intelligence, a live reaction on the TV Fórum YouTube channel, and a post-debate program commenting on the main moments of the night.

The latest Datafolha survey, released Thursday, October 22, shows the candidates tied with 50 percent of valid votes each. Flávio Bolsonaro previously held 52 percent against Lula's 48 percent in the first week of the runoff, while the prior poll from October 15 showed 51 percent to 49 percent.

The format includes four blocks of questions and answers followed by final remarks from the candidates. The first block consists of six rounds on Brazilian regions and a priority national topic, with the subject of each round decided by a live draw.

In the next two blocks, candidates choose from topics displayed on a screen to question their opponent. Each round in the first three blocks allows three minutes per candidate, divided among question, response, rebuttal, and surrebuttal according to the discussion stage.

The fourth block is a free topic with eight minutes of speaking time for each participant and no limit on interventions. The order of questions is determined by a draw conducted by the mediator.