Lula and Flávio Trade Sharp Attacks as Campaign Radio Debuts

Overview

• The first nationwide campaign radio programs, broadcast Saturday, featured direct attacks between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro as both sought to set the tone for the broadcast phase of the campaign.
• Lula's radio piece replayed an audio in which Flávio allegedly asked banker Daniel Vorcaro for money to finance the film Dark Horse and labeled the senator “o pior dos Bolsonaros,” while also raising past rachadinha allegations against him.
• Flávio used his radio time to stress the economy, public security and a family‑centered image, and in recent TV Globo comments he called his father's conviction a “grande farsa” and repeated disputed claims linking Brazilian voting machines to Smartmatic.
• The Planalto has arranged a concentrated week in Congress starting August 31 to push popular measures — including zeroing import tax on small purchases, ending 6x1 work shifts and advancing a public security constitutional change — as potential electoral payoffs.
• With polls showing a technically tight race, the campaigns are calibrating which lines to amplify now (the Vorcaro audio) and which to hold back (the ‘TariFlávio’ tag), so approval of congressional measures and further use of corruption or electoral‑integrity claims will be key to watch next.