2026 ELECTION
Globo's canceled debate is the 2026 campaign in miniature
Flávio Bolsonaro pulled out of Globo's debate after Renan Santos was added to the lineup. Photo: Beto Barata/PL
TV Globo canceled Brazil's final presidential debate on Thursday, less than an hour before airtime. No broadcast could have summed up the 2026 campaign better.
The race was supposed to be about public safety, yet a candidate with ties to criminal organizations could win it. It was supposed to be about purchasing power, yet an incumbent who showered voters with money is far from comfortable in the polls.
It was supposed to be about sovereignty, yet the candidate who pledged fealty to a foreign power is tied for the lead. It was supposed to be about the Banco Master scandal, yet the man who took tens of millions of reais from the bank's owner may be the next president.
It was supposed to be a choice, yet Datafolha shows 45% of voters saying they would never vote for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and 45% saying the same of Flávio Bolsonaro. And it was supposed to include debates. Sunday's first round will arrive without either frontrunner having faced a single rival on stage…
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