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Brazil presidential debate zeroes in on Chinese investment and US tariffs
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Igor Patrickin São PauloPublished: 5:00pm, 24 Aug 2026Brazil’s presidential candidates opened the televised campaign season on Sunday with a debate that turned repeatedly to the country’s position between Washington and Beijing.
The exchange comes in an election cycle already shaped by American tariffs, a visa dispute over election monitoring and the Lula government’s warming ties with China.
Ronaldo Caiado, Augusto Cury and Renan Santos took to the debate stage in Sao Paulo but the lecterns reserved for President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro and former Minas Gerais governor Romeu Zema remained empty.
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Lula and Flavio Bolsonaro, who are leading in every published poll, refused to take part, with the Brazilian president telling a podcast in July he would skip debates if the exercise meant listening to nonsense.
Flavio Bolsonaro has tied his attendance to Lula’s, and Zema withdrew hours beforehand, saying the event had “lost its purpose”.
A senator for Rio de Janeiro and the eldest son of Jair Bolsonaro, Flavio became a candidate in December after being named by his father as his heir. Jair was sentenced to 27 years in jail for plotting a coup and masterminding a plan to assassinate Lula after losing his re-election bid in 2022.
The Band network has opened the televised campaign in every presidential race since 1989, the first direct vote after two decades of military rule. Broadcasters treat the event as the moment that sets the tone for the season.
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