Marcela Leiros – Cenarium Magazine
MANAUS – The first debate of the second round between presidential candidates Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and Jair Bolsonaro (PL) this Sunday, 16, had an hour of direct confrontation with issues such as corruption, economy, pandemic Covid-19 and preservation of the Amazon. The lack of oxygen in Manaus in 2021 was also addressed. The debate started in a moderate tone, but the tempers between the presidential candidates became more heated throughout the discussions.
The debate was promoted by Folha, UOL, TV Bandeirantes, and TV Cultura. In two blocks, the candidates had half an hour to talk freely about any subject, totaling one hour. One of the subjects discussed was deforestation and the preservation of the Amazon.
Former president Lula recalled when Brazil was a world reference in the climate agenda and even accused the Bolsonaro government of “playing at deforestation”. “I don’t know if my opponent remembers, but I was the only president in the history of Brazil invited to every G8 meeting, and to all the G20 meetings. And why were we invited? Because there was something we took care of that you don’t, which is the climate issue”, said Lula.
“During our government we had the lowest deforestation in the Amazon. And yours is bigger every year. You are playing at deforestation. You are playing at opening fences, cutting down trees. You will see what will happen with Brazilian trade”, he added.
Bolsonaro asked spectators to research how much was deforested during Lula’s government and during his administration, claiming that the devastation was twice as much during the PT’s government.
“Google it at home. Deforestation 2003 to 2006. Four years of Lula’s government. Then Google: deforestation Jair Bolsonaro 2019 to 2022. During his government deforestation was more than twice as high as during mine”, he defended himself.
International investment
Still on the environmental theme, Lula said he intends, if elected, to implement low-carbon agriculture, so that Brazil will receive international investment to preserve the Amazon and thus generate income for the region’s people.
“We will try to make the biodiversity of the Amazon a form of enrichment for the people of the Amazon, of almost 30 million people who live there. And not deforest, and not ‘deforest’ as you are doing”, he claimed.
In response, Bolsonaro claimed that Lula wants to share the biodiversity of the Amazon with the world. “Lula, you just said a few weeks ago that you were going to share the biodiversity of the Amazon with the world. You are already bowing down to the world. Instead of you talking about our biodiversity being ours, you want to divide our biodiversity”, he argued.
Oxygen Crisis in Manaus
About the pandemic, Lula accused Bolsonaro for the delay in buying vaccines against the Covid-19 and put on the president’s account the more than 600 thousand deaths from the disease. The former president also recalled the oxygen crisis in Amazonas, when there was a shortage of the input for those infected with the coronavirus.
“The concrete fact is that your negligence caused 680 thousand people to die, when more than half could have been saved. The truth is that you didn’t take care, you mocked, you laughed, you denied the vaccine, you said that those who took the vaccine became alligators, that they became homosexuals, that they couldn’t take the vaccine. You mocked people, you made fun of people, you mimed people drowning for lack of oxygen in Manaus. That is, there isn’t, in the history of any government, anyone who played with the pandemic and with death as you did”, he accused.
The President of the Republic called Lula’s allegations “frivolous and lying accusations”, affirming that Brazil was one of the countries that vaccinated the most in the world, and in the fastest time. “If you don’t lie, you won’t be Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva”, he replied.
Bolsonaro further mentioned the early treatment against Covid-19 and said that “history will show who is right” on the issue. “The issue of early treatment, whether or not it has scientific proof, which was something unheard of worldwide, took away the autonomy of the doctor, the so-called off label prescription. This was abolished in Brazil”, he also said.
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