Socialist President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva claimed Tuesday that conservative Senator Flávio Bolsonaro will only be allowed to participate in the upcoming final presidential runoff debate against him if he authorizes the disclosure of the Bolsonaro family’s financial records.
According to Brazilian outlets, Lula justified the demand by arguing that the president of the republic cannot debate a “thief.”
Brazil is less than a week away from holding its 2026 presidential runoff election on Sunday, October 25. On that day, nearly 159 million voters are called to head to the polls to choose between conservative Flávio Bolsonaro — the front-running candidate — and Lula, a socialist president seeking to be reelected to a fourth four-year term.
Last week, the candidates faced each other in a debate for the first time in the entirety of the 2026 presidential campaign cycle. The debate, described by mainstream media as “chaotic,” saw Lula commit a series of gaffes — most notably, affirming that people will say Brazil would be “finished” if he is reelected for a fourth term. During the debate, Lula dared Bolsonaro to mutually disclose their respective financial and telephone records, something that, according to the socialist president, would allow Brazilians to “find out who is who in this country.”
A second and final presidential runoff debate will be hosted in Rio de Janeiro by TV Globo and is scheduled to take place on Friday, October 23, two days before the election.
However, on Tuesday night, during a campaign rally in Pernambuco, the Brazilian president affirmed that his rival will only be allowed to participate in the TV Globo debate if Sen. Bolsonaro signs a document authorizing the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) for the complete public disclosure of the Senator’s entire financial, fiscal, and phone records — extending the demand to all members of the Bolsonaro family.
“If he [Flavio Bolsonaro] presents a document authorizing the lifting of confidentiality, there will be a debate; otherwise, he cannot participate in the debate. Because a president of the republic cannot debate with a thief,” Lula reportedly said to his followers.
At the event, the Lula campaign debuted a jingle titled, “Lift the confidentiality, Flávio,” daring the conservative senator to comply with Lula’s demands.
Per Jovem Pan, Lula submitted a similar document on Tuesday before the rally authorizing the disclosure of the Lula family’s records. The outlet explained that, in accordance with local guidelines, the TSE’s disclosure of the records is made through a specialized system and made publicly available through a website.
In Lula’s case, the disclosure would cover his wife, First Lady Rosângela “Janja” da Silva and Lula’s five sons. In the case of Sen. Bolsonaro, the disclosure would cover his wife Fernanda Bolsonaro, brothers Carlos, Eduardo, and Jair Renan, and the senator’s parents, former President Jair Bolsonaro and Rogéria Bolsonaro. Lula reportedly conditioned the release of his family’s records on Bolsonaro authorizing the release of his records and those of his family.
The Lula campaign turned the president’s “challenge” into a registered campaign ad video published by the socialist president in his official social media accounts. Lula accompanied the video with a text that reads (translated from Portuguese): “Anyone who wants to govern Brazil needs to have the willingness to be accountable to Brazilians.”
“It’s easy to demand transparency from others. I want to see you do the same when the demand comes knocking at your door,” the text continued. “Those who owe nothing, fear nothing. And those who fear nothing, open their secrets.”
Neither Sen. Bolsonaro, nor any member of his presidential campaign, has publicly commented on Lula’s “challenge” at press time.
The Brazilian president’s allegations that he cannot hold a debate against a “thief” notably stand in contrast to the behavior exhibited during the 2022 presidential campaign between Lula and former President Jair Bolsonaro. At the time, the Lula campaign coalition demanded that the TSE censor Jair Bolsonaro’s campaign from referring to Lula as a “thief” and “corrupt” in campaign materials. The TSE agreed to censor the Bolsonaro campaign.
Lula was convicted and sentenced in 2019 of corruption and money laundering. However, the Brazilian Supreme Court overturned the conviction on procedural grounds — a technicality — which ultimately allowed Lula to run for president again in 2022, narrowly defeating Jair Bolsonaro.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.