Lula and Flávio Open Campaigns With Biographies and Sharp Attacks

Overview

• On Saturday, Aug. 29, both Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro used their first radio and TV blocks to present personal narratives while trading targeted attacks.
• Lula’s campaign replayed audio published by Intercept Brasil that appears to show Flávio seeking money from banker Daniel Vorcaro to fund the film Dark Horse and highlighted past allegations such as rachadinha and a homage to a convicted militiaman.
• Flávio refused to fully explain his ties to Vorcaro during a TV Globo sabatina and denied any quid pro quo, while using his program to stress public security, family imagery and the economic squeeze facing households.
• The Lula team said it will postpone tariff-focused attacks nicknamed “TariFlávio” to prioritize the Vorcaro angle, even as the Planalto presses Congress to approve visible measures—like cutting small import taxes and ending the 6x1 work scale—to produce near-term electoral gains.
• Jair Bolsonaro’s recent 27-year prison sentence and house arrest provide a charged judicial backdrop, and Flávio’s repeated claims linking Brazil’s voting machines to Smartmatic have been publicly denied by the electoral court, creating competing narratives about legitimacy and trust in institutions.