President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party, PT) and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (Liberal Party, PL) faced off in a televised debate on Sunday, October 18, hosted by Band. The encounter, marking the first direct confrontation between the two leading candidates for the 2026 presidential election, was characterized by mutual accusations and multiple factual errors from both sides, according to a detailed fact-check by Folha de S.Paulo.
Travel spending and economic growth claims
Flávio Bolsonaro claimed that trips by Lula and First Lady Rosângela "Janja" Lula da Silva cost R$ 7 billion. The figure, circulating on social media since at least 2025, actually represents total federal government travel spending across all agencies since 2023 — R$ 8.46 billion according to the Transparency Portal. Spending by the Presidency itself totaled R$ 30.8 million, covering security details, aides, and staff, not only the president and first lady.
Lula, in turn, stated that Brazil's GDP had not grown above 3% since the end of his second term in 2010 until his return in 2023. This is incorrect. Under Dilma Rousseff (PT), GDP grew 4% in 2011. Under Jair Bolsonaro (PL), it grew 5% in 2021. Lula was correct that the economy expanded 7.5% by the end of his first presidential cycle.
Food inflation and minimum wage purchasing power
On food inflation, Lula said his administration accumulated 13% food inflation versus 56.17% under Bolsonaro. The direction is accurate — food inflation was higher under the previous administration — but the precise figure for the Bolsonaro period was 54.2%.
Lula also claimed the minimum wage bought 1.8 basic food baskets under Bolsonaro and 2.2 under his government. As of August 2026, a minimum wage of R$ 1,621 purchased 1.8 baskets in São Paulo (average basket price R$ 900.59). This represents an 11.3% improvement over August 2022 (1.62 baskets), but no national average exists for this metric.
The Vorcaro and "Dark Horse" allegations
Lula alleged that Flávio Bolsonaro "took" R$ 134 million from Daniel Vorcaro, former owner of Banco Master, for the film "Dark Horse" — a biopic about Jair Bolsonaro — and had not explained the funds' destination. The claim requires context. Flávio did request the transfer directly, but only R$ 62 million was sent before Vorcaro's arrest, according to public records. The Federal Police are investigating whether part of the money was diverted to cover expenses for Flávio's brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, in the United States. The funds went to the Havengate fund, managed by Paulo Calixto, an attorney linked to Eduardo. The PF has requested a 90-day extension to trace all transactions.
In a plea bargain, businessman Antônio Carlos Freixo Júnior (known as Mineiro), who facilitated the transfer, told the PF he did not know the money was destined for the film; he believed it was an investment in a U.S. real estate fund.
Roberta Luchsinger and Lulinha
Flávio repeatedly invoked Roberta Luchsinger, a lobbyist under investigation alongside Fábio Luís Lula da Silva ("Lulinha"), the president's eldest son, in three inquiries involving suspected corruption and influence peddling. Flávio claimed Luchsinger had admitted to being Lulinha's business partner in a CNN Brasil interview on Saturday. She did not. She explicitly denied any professional partnership: "I have no professional activity with Lulinha." She did confirm that Lulinha met with federal ministers multiple times. Lulinha's defense denies any wrongdoing.
INSS fraud timeline
Flávio accused the Lula administration of stealing from pensioners and claimed the figure known as "Careca do INSS" emerged during Lula's term. The investigated improper associative discounts on pension benefits date to 2019, during the Bolsonaro administration. Operation Sem Desconto, launched by the Federal Police and the Comptroller General (CGU) in April 2025, covers the 2019–2024 period, with R$ 6.3 billion in total discounts (legal and illegal). The annual peak — R$ 2.6 billion — occurred in 2024, under Lula. Antônio Carlos Camilo Antunes ("Careca do INSS") has stated his involvement in the associative benefits sector began in 2017, with ties to investigated entities documented since 2022.
Voting rights and the USTR hearing
Lula said he would welcome even a vote from Jair Bolsonaro, "who is imprisoned for attempted coup." Flávio responded that his father cannot vote because he is a "victim of persecution." In fact, Bolsonaro is barred from voting due to a definitive conviction (transit in judged). Provisional detainees retain voting rights — a rule allowing banker Daniel Vorcaro to vote while detained. Starting in 2028, the Anti-Faction Law will bar all prisoners from voting.
Flávio also claimed the Lula government sent no representative to a July USTR (U.S. Trade Representative) public hearing on a trade investigation that resulted in a 25% tariff on Brazilian goods. This is imprecise. The government argued the hearing was intended for private-sector actors. Since the Trump administration's trade offensive began, multiple meetings between Brazilian and U.S. authorities have taken place, led by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin (PSB), and Industry and Trade Minister Márcio Elias Rosa.
Pandemic deaths and Mais Médicos
Lula cited 716,000 COVID-19 deaths in Brazil, consistent with Health Ministry data, and claimed roughly half could have been saved. This estimate derives from epidemiologist Pedro Hallal's June 2021 testimony to the COVID-19 Parliamentary Inquiry Committee (CPI), where he stated 400,000 of the roughly 500,000 deaths recorded up to that point could have been avoided with earlier vaccine procurement and proper measures.
Lula accurately reported the expansion of the More Doctors (Mais Médicos) program: 12,000 doctors in 2022 (official data show 12,500 in September 2022) rising to 27,500 by December 2025.