Brazil’s incumbent president Jair Bolsonaro and election challenger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have called each other a liar during a heated television debate.

The term was used more than a dozen times by each of the candidates during the 90-minute TV Band encounter and comes before the presidential election’s run-off on 30 October.

“You are a liar. You lie every day,” Mr da Silva said during one exchange.

Mr Bolsonaro said: “You can’t come here to tell people these lies.”

Mr da Silva, who was previously president between 2003 and 2010 and who is mostly known as Lula, said the country needs a leader to “take care” of them.

He said: “Bolsonaro, you continue lying through your teeth.

“Effectively, I’m going to come back to govern this country because the people need someone to take care of them.”

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He also criticised Mr Bolsonaro for his “negligence” in dealing with the COVID pandemic, which has killed 680,000 Brazilians, and for his role in playing down the seriousness of the virus and for promoting unproven treatments and cures.

Mr Bolsonaro was also singled out for the increasing deforestation of the Amazon.

Mr da Silva added: “You are playing with deforestation. You are playing with tearing down fences, cutting trees.”

Corruption scandals involving Mr da Silva’s Workers’ Party were highlighted by Mr Bolsonaro, who said: “He (Mr da Silva) wants to share the biodiversity of the Amazon with the world.

“Instead of saying the Amazon is ours, you want to share our biodiversity.”

Read more:
Brazil’s rainforest under attack

Earlier this month, Mr da Silva won the election’s first round with 48% of the vote compared to Mr Bolsonaro’s 43%.

Neither candidate detailed how they would raise the money needed to extend a more generous welfare programme, which both have promised to carry out, without breaking federal budget rules.

The pair are expected to take part in one more television debate before the election.

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