What wasn't said in the debate: Lula curbed Bolsonaro's vulgarity.

Much of the media declared it a draw. After all, Lula knocked Jair Bolsonaro out in the first segment when he brought up the pandemic issue, but he mismanaged his time in the last segment, when his opponent attacked him with corruption charges, and allowed the president to have the last word.

Real-time polls conducted among undecided voters indicated a slight advantage for Lula – although they did not follow scientific sampling criteria. In both campaigns, the final outburst was: "Phew!". After all, nobody died. And, despite the many predictions that follow such an event, it's impossible to know how each phrase, dialogue, or confrontation will resonate with voters. Almost always, the effects are minimal.

Politically, however, almost as important as what was said, remembered, and accused there, was what was not said. Although they called each other "liars" and made serious accusations in the Band debate this Sunday, Bolsonaro and Lula didn't throw any below-the-belt blows. They even seemed like two different people. ladies...if you compare the tone of the discussion to that of the PT and PL programs during their televised election broadcasts.

Why? It is known that the Bolsonaro campaign ordered a thorough investigation into the personal life of the Workers' Party member and his relatives, as well as every detail of the Workers' Party governments, in order to bring embarrassing accusations to the debate. However, Lula's allies, knowing this, sought to attack former Bolsonaro supporters, such as businessman Paulo Marinho – and all indications are that they succeeded, cornering the Bolsonaro supporters. 

This situation resulted in a belligerent debate, but one fought over topics that were more than worn out and predictable – the pandemic and corruption – with no surprises for anyone. What was on trial was each candidate's ability to articulate their discourse and remain calm. In this respect, Lula far surpassed the current president in the first segment.

In the second part, the Workers' Party candidate refuted the accusations of corruption at Petrobras, but by the third he already seemed tired and misused his time. Bolsonaro improved towards the end of the debate, but suffers from chronic verbal disarray and a certain lack of tact.

When discussing, for example, gender-segregated restrooms in his closing arguments, the president remained within his own bubble. He spoke little about real life and issues that affect the majority of the population, especially undecided voters.

Bolsonaro was fortunate to have obtained, on Sunday itself, a favorable decision from the president of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), Alexandre de Moraes, in the case of the "Venezuelan climate" – which he read at the first possible opportunity.

But while this may have been positive for the president in the short term, the same cannot be said in the medium term: by showing the country a decision by the minister favorable to him, Bolsonaro undermined his own narrative of persecution by the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), which he will certainly try to use to create turmoil in the event of a defeat on the 30th.