The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has stated that the candidate Flávio Bolsonaro "bluffed" by imposing a battery of requirements to lift the banking secrecy of himself and his close associates, convinced that they would not be accepted, and that "he does not have a single good card, only lies."
During this week, Lula has reiterated that he is willing to make public his banking secrecy, his phone records, and his business interests, as well as those of his wife and his five children, as long as Flávio Bolsonaro submits to the same scrutiny. That challenge was already thrown by the president in the tense televised debate last Sunday.
The Brazilian leader has criticized Bolsonaro for reacting by inventing "a bunch of lies" and has compared the situation to the popular card game Truco. "He bluffed (...) He has no good cards, only lies. His cards are all fake," Lula has stated, according to local press.
"He is going to find out what a Truco champion is," the president warned at a rally in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, a swing state that since the return of democracy in 1985 has often anticipated the winner of the presidential elections.
This week, Lula went to the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) to authorize the disclosure of his banking, phone, and tax secrecy from the last eight years, as well as that of his wife, the First Lady Janja da Silva, and that of his five children, conditioned on Flávio Bolsonaro agreeing to undergo the same procedure.
Bolsonaro's team has responded by setting a series of additional conditions, including that the closest advisors of Lula be included, his previous terms, the disbursements of the First Lady and the Presidency, the extension to businesses and interests of other family members and partners, and the publication of details of meetings with figures such as banker Daniel Vorcaro, currently in preventive detention for fraud, among other demands.
In light of this scenario, Lula's campaign team has announced that it will present this Thursday at the headquarters of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) a new statement adapted to the demands made by Bolsonaro.
Brazil faces on Sunday the second round of the presidential elections, in which the far-right candidate arrives with a slight advantage, although the polls depict a very close race. In recent hours, both teams have requested the TSE to annul the rival candidacy due to alleged abuses committed during the campaign.
The two contenders accumulate high rejection rates among voters, so the 8% represented by the undecided and those opting for blank or null votes could be decisive in the appointment on Sunday the 25th.