Lula demands Flávio Bolsonaro open bank and phone records before debate

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he sent bank, tax and telephone secrecy waivers for himself and his family to the Superior Electoral Court and the Supreme Federal Court. He asked Senator Flávio Bolsonaro to do the same before the upcoming TV Globo presidential debate.

Lula made the demand during a walk through Juazeiro and Petrolina in Bahia and Pernambuco. He said a president cannot debate with a thief and that Flávio likely lacks the courage to open his own records.

“Because a president of the republic cannot debate with a thief, that is the concrete fact.”

The president named his wife Rosângela da Silva, known as Janja, and his eldest son Fábio Luiz Lula da Silva, known as Lulinha, in the document. The request also covers companies and accounts registered in the names of both presidential candidates.

Minister André Mendonça will report the case, and Supreme Court President Edson Fachin will decide. Lula previously delivered the waivers to the electoral court president, Nunes Marques, in Porto Alegre.

Lula does not own a cell phone and uses an aide's device and the first lady's phone to communicate. He is the father of Lulinha, Lurian, Marcos, Sandro and Luis Claudio.

The Band debate on Sunday was the first direct clash between the candidates, marked by exchanges of barbs and accusations. Flávio joked about Lula not having a cell phone and said the president would steal his wallet during the program.