by ICL Notícias
President Lula stated this Monday, October 19, that he will submit information regarding his own banking and telephone records, as well as those of his five children, to the president of the Superior Electoral Court, Kássio Nunes Marques, on Tuesday, October 20.
The president challenged Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, his opponent in the presidential race, to do the same regarding his own data, as well as that of his family and his companies.
“I am sending this to the president of the electoral court, waiving the confidentiality of my telephone and banking records, as well as those of my family and my five children,” Lula declared upon arriving in the southern city of Porto Alegre, where he took part in a campaign event.
“It is time, once and for all, to put an end to this habit of calling honest people thieves,” he said. Lula also demanded that Bolsonaro show the “courage to prove that he is honest.”
Lula Challenged Flavio Bolsonaro to do the Same During a Debate
The president reiterated a challenge he had first posed during a debate on Sunday, October 18, in which he proposed that both candidates submit their banking and telephone records to the electoral court. Bolsonaro mocked the proposal, remarking that Lula does not even use a cell phone, and stated that his own accounts have been declared to Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (right) and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro (left), presidential candidates, participate in a televised presidential debate hosted by Band TV in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 18, 2026, ahead of the presidential runoff election. (Photo by Allison Sales/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
On Monday, October 19, Lula once again criticized the senator and drew a comparison between their respective assets. The president pointed to an apartment he purchased in 1998 and questioned how Bolsonaro managed to acquire a mansion in Brasília for approximately $2 million, paid in cash, up front.
“This country cannot have a member of a militia in the Presidency of the Republic,” Lula said, using the term “miliciano” that he had used during the debate.
The candidates have both accused each other of corruption. Bolsonaro questioned Lula about lobbyist Roberta Luchsinger, who is under investigation alongside his son, Fábio Luís Lula da Silva.
The president, in turn, demanded an explanation regarding the $27 million that Flávio Bolsonaro requested from banker Daniel Vorcaro to finance a film about his father Jair Bolsonaro. He also raised questions about Flávio Bolsonaro’s personal assets.
This article originally appeared in ICL Notícias, which has authorized Panamerican Dispatch to translate and publish it in English. It can be read in its original Portuguese, here.