The debate, organized by a group of Brazilian media, including the Rede Bandeirantes radio station and the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper, is the first on the campaign calendar with a view to the elections on October 2.
Bolsonaro said on Friday that “he must go” on Sunday, after having considered not participating, although he clarified that the decision has not been made.
“I must be [en el debate] on Sunday. I am deciding. At one point I thought I shouldn’t go, now I think I should. I am going to be shot, they are going to shoot me all the time (…) but I think my strategy is going to work,” the president said in an interview with Jovem Pan radio.
Shortly before, a Bolsonaro adviser had told AFP that the far-right leader had decided not to participate to avoid the “wear and tear” of becoming the “preferred target” of the candidates.
The leftist Lula, his main adversary and favorite in the polls, also keeps his participation in suspense. A source from his campaign told AFP that the former president of Brazil (2003-2010) will confirm as soon as it is known “if Bolsonaro goes.”
Both candidates were interviewed this week, separately, in the most watched news in Brazil, considered an important moment in the campaign that began on August 16.
Lula leads the electoral race for October 2 with 47% of the intention to vote against 32% for Bolsonaro, according to a survey by the Datafolha Institute published on August 18. Other polls indicate a smaller lead, with Lula also in the lead.
The organizers invited, in addition to Lula and Bolsonaro, four other candidates, including former Finance Minister Ciro Gomes, from the center-left PDT, and Senator Simone Tebet, from the centrist MDB, third and fourth in the polls.
Although the event, scheduled for Sunday night, may lose its shine with the eventual absence of some of the best positioned, it will not be cancelled.
In case of absences, the space reserved for the candidates will be empty, according to the organizers.
