TV Globo cancels Brazil debate after candidates withdraw

TV Globo cancelled Brazil’s planned final presidential debate on October 1 after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he would not attend, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro withdrew hours before airtime, and court rulings changed the event’s planned format. The cancellation removed the last scheduled televised opportunity for the leading candidates to face one another before the first round of voting on October 4. TV Globo said the rulings, from the electoral court and the Supreme Court, created legal uncertainty about how the debate could proceed. Reports described restrictions on a plan to leave an empty seat for Lula, as well as a separate order concerning the participation of candidate Renan Santos. The precise effects of the rulings and their relative importance to the broadcaster’s decision were not fully clear from the available accounts. Lula had announced on October 1 that he would not take part. Flávio Bolsonaro, who had previously indicated he would attend, pulled out later, shortly before the debate was due to begin. In a live broadcast, he said electoral-court censorship was the reason for his withdrawal, referring to the ruling against leaving Lula’s seat empty.