Brazil Runoff Debates: Dates, Channels and Who Shows Up
BRAZIL · RUNOFF
Key Facts
- The country Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, elects its president in a runoff on Sunday 25 October between President Lula and conservative senator Flávio Bolsonaro.
- What happened On Tuesday 13 October, Flávio said he will skip Band’s debate on Sunday 18 October, while Lula confirmed he will attend.
- The schedule Three Brazil runoff debates are announced: a media pool on Thursday 15 October, Band on Sunday 18 October and TV Globo on Friday 23 October.
- US times Band starts at 8 p.m. Brasília time, 7 p.m. US Eastern; Globo airs after its evening news and has given no clock time.
- Still open Flávio’s team has not decided on the Globo debate, and neither candidate has confirmed the pool debate on 15 October.
- Power Index Brazil ranks 1st of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 75.0 points (October 2026 edition).
- Prediction markets Polymarket gives Flávio Bolsonaro an 86.1% chance of winning; bets on a debate between the two stand at 64% (14 October, 2:07 a.m. ET). Polymarket puts Flávio Bolsonaro’s chance of winning at 86% and Kalshi at 88% (Lula: 15% and 15%), as of 14 October, 2:20 am ET; prices are bets, not polls.
Runoff · Sunday, 25 October
Brazil Runoff 2026: Lula vs Flávio
Date, polls, debates, odds and how the runoff works, updated every day.
Brazil runoff polls · Polymarket and Kalshi odds · When results come
The first Brazil runoff debate with a fixed start time airs on Band on Sunday 18 October, at 7 p.m. US Eastern. Flávio Bolsonaro, the conservative senator who topped the first round on 4 October, said on Tuesday that he will not attend.
President Lula confirmed that he will be in the studio, so Band plans to question him next to an empty podium. TV Globo’s debate on Friday 23 October, two days before the vote, is now the last scheduled chance to see both men side by side.
Every Runoff Debate at a Glance
Brazil votes in the runoff on Sunday 25 October, three weeks after a first round in which neither front-runner joined a single debate. The full runoff guide explains how the vote works and what each result would mean.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the sitting president, seeks re-election for the left-wing Workers’ Party (PT), chaired by Edinho Silva. His challenger, Flávio Bolsonaro, is a senator for Rio de Janeiro and the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Flávio runs for the Liberal Party (PL), Brazil’s main conservative party. Four Brazil runoff debates were announced, and one of them has already been dropped.
Thursday 15 October, media pool: eleven outlets, including SBT, RedeTV! and Metrópoles, plan a debate called O Momento da Decisão (The Moment of Decision). No start time has been set, and neither candidate has confirmed.
Sunday 18 October, Band and Estadão: the debate starts at 8 p.m. Brasília time, 7 p.m. Eastern and 4 p.m. Pacific. Lula has confirmed, and Flávio says he will not go.
Friday 23 October, TV Globo: the final debate airs from Estúdios Globo in Rio de Janeiro straight after the Jornal Nacional evening news. Globo has not announced a clock time, and Flávio’s team has not decided whether he will attend.
Sunday 11 October, Record: the broadcaster cancelled its planned debate, citing the candidates’ incompatible schedules, and has not set a new date. Band had also first planned its own debate for 11 October before moving it a week later.
Globo will also interview each man alone, live after the Jornal Nacional, with journalist Renata Lo Prete. Lula is due on Thursday 15 October and Flávio on Friday 16 October, in an order drawn by lot.
Band on 18 October Without Flávio
Grupo Bandeirantes, the São Paulo media group behind Band, confirmed on Tuesday that its Brazil runoff debate goes ahead at 8 p.m. on Sunday. Under the debate rules, a candidate who does not show up is represented by an empty podium.
Veja reported that Band will turn the evening into a one-on-one interview with Lula if Flávio stays away. BandNews TV, the group’s news channel, starts special coverage at 6 p.m. Brasília time, which is 5 p.m. Eastern.
Flávio ruled out the Band debate as 17 of 27 state branches of the centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), led by Baleia Rossi, backed him. “We are analysing it, and my technical team will have the final word on going to the last debate,” he said, Estadão reported.
On Sunday, Flávio plans to meet supporters on São Paulo’s Avenida Paulista at 11 a.m. and then campaign in Minas Gerais, RedeTV! reported. Lula, in a video for Band’s audience, said he hoped his opponent would come so voters could compare the two programmes.
TV Cultura, TV Gazeta and Jovem Pan will carry the debate, along with the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, which co-hosts it. The organisers moved it from 11 October after consultations by the debate’s producers, announcing the new date on 6 October.
Globo on 23 October Is the Last Chance
TV Globo, the Rio de Janeiro network behind the Jornal Nacional, holds the final Brazil runoff debate on Friday 23 October, with César Tralli moderating. It will air live on TV Globo and at the same time on the GloboNews channel and the g1 news site.
Globo gives no clock time beyond “after the Jornal Nacional”, and it has pulled that night’s 9 p.m. telenovela, Quem Ama Cuida. Its cancelled first-round debate on 1 October had been set for 9:30 p.m. Brasília time, or 8:30 p.m. Eastern.
That first-round debate never happened, because Lula had declined and Flávio pulled out hours before it began. He objected to a ruling on its rules by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), which runs Brazil’s elections, and called it censorship.
Flávio’s campaign is still weighing the Globo date, and SBT News reported that it does not yet plan on him attending any runoff debate. Edinho Silva, who chairs Lula’s Workers’ Party, said on Tuesday that Lula will take part in both the Band and Globo debates, Metrópoles reported.
How to Watch From the United States
Band streams its Brazil runoff debate on its Band Jornalismo YouTube channel, on band.com.br and on the Bandplay app, the broadcaster says. Estadão’s website and app will also carry it live, the organisers said.
Globo will show its debate live on TV Globo, the g1 news site and GloboNews, and on Globoplay through the TV Globo signal. Globo says GloboNews will make the debate available worldwide, and the full replay goes on g1 afterwards.
SBT News, a pool member, streams its channel on +SBT, its website and YouTube, but the pool has not said where its debate will air. Band and the pool have not said whether their live streams can be watched from outside Brazil.
US clocks fall back on Sunday 1 November, a week after the runoff, so Eastern time stays one hour behind Brasília throughout the campaign. Pacific time is four hours behind, so the Band debate starts at 4 p.m. in Los Angeles.
What Prediction Markets Say
On Polymarket, an online prediction market, bettors give Flávio Bolsonaro an 86.1% chance of winning and Lula 14.5% (14 October, 2:07 a.m. ET). About US$181 million has been bet on that market so far.
A much smaller Polymarket contract, with about US$12,000 traded, asks whether the two men will meet in a Brazil runoff debate. Bets on yes fell 9.7 points to 64% over the 24 hours in which Flávio ruled out the Band debate.
Prediction markets · who wins the runoff
Implied chance of winning Brazil’s presidency on 25 October, from traders’ prices.
Polymarket
Flávio Bolsonaro 86.1% · Lula 14.5% (US$181 million traded)
Kalshi (regulated in the US by the CFTC)
Flávio Bolsonaro 88% · Lula 15%
As of 14 October, 2:20 am ET (07:20 Lisbon), updated every 20 minutes. Prices are bets, not polls, and can move fast.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What It Means for You
From the United States, the only Brazil runoff debate with a confirmed start time is Band’s, on Sunday 18 October at 7 p.m. Eastern. Lula may be alone on stage, which makes Globo’s 23 October debate, the last chance to see both men together, the bigger test.
Investors in Brazilian stocks, US-listed Brazilian shares and the real may react to the Band debate when markets open on Monday 19 October. The Globo debate falls on a Friday night, so markets have no trading session to react before Sunday’s vote.
What Is Not Known
It is not known whether the pool’s Brazil runoff debate on Thursday 15 October will take place, or at what time. On Tuesday 13 October, Veja, whose VEJA+ TV channel belongs to the pool, counted only Band and Globo as confirmed runoff debates.
Flávio’s decision on Globo is still open, and Globo has not published a start time or the debate rules. It is also unclear whether Record will try a new date, or whether Band’s streams will be blocked for viewers outside Brazil.
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the next Brazil runoff debate?
Band holds its Brazil runoff debate on Sunday 18 October at 8 p.m. Brasília time, which is 7 p.m. US Eastern. A media pool debate is announced for Thursday 15 October, but it has no start time and no confirmed candidates.
Will Flávio Bolsonaro attend any runoff debate?
Flávio said on Tuesday 13 October that he will not go to the Band debate on Sunday 18 October. He said his campaign team will decide on the Globo debate of Friday 23 October.
Has Lula confirmed he will debate?
Yes, Lula confirmed that he will attend the Band debate on Sunday 18 October. Edinho Silva, who chairs his Workers’ Party, said Lula will also take part in the Globo debate on Friday 23 October.
How can I watch the Brazil runoff debate in the United States?
Band streams on its Band Jornalismo YouTube channel, band.com.br and the Bandplay app, and Globo on g1, GloboNews and Globoplay. Globo says GloboNews will make its debate available worldwide, while Band has not said whether its streams work outside Brazil.
What time is the Globo debate in US Eastern time?
Globo airs it after the Jornal Nacional evening news on Friday 23 October but has not given a clock time. Its cancelled first-round debate had been set for 9:30 p.m. Brasília time, or 8:30 p.m. Eastern.
When is Brazil’s runoff?
Brazil votes in the presidential runoff on Sunday 25 October. US clocks fall back only on 1 November, so Eastern time stays one hour behind Brasília until then.
Sources: Band (Grupo Bandeirantes), Lula confirms Band debate on 18 October, 13 October 2026; BandNews TV (Grupo Bandeirantes), Band confirms 18 October debate, 13 October 2026; g1 (Grupo Globo), TV Globo schedules runoff interviews and debate, 7 October 2026; SBT News (pool member), pool moves runoff debate to 15 October, 6 October 2026; Estadão (debate co-host), Flávio skips Band/Estadão debate, 13 October 2026; Estadão (debate co-host), Band/Estadão debate set for 18 October, 6 October 2026; g1, Flávio says he will skip Sunday’s debate and weighs the next, 13 October 2026; SBT News, Flávio will not attend Band debate, 13 October 2026; Veja, Band to interview Lula next to an empty podium, 13 October 2026; Metrópoles, PT confirms Lula for Band and Globo debates, 13 October 2026; Metrópoles, Globo drops telenovela episode for the debate, 13 October 2026; RedeTV!, Flávio confirms he will skip Sunday’s debate, 13 October 2026; Exame, Lula confirms Band debate, 13 October 2026; Exame, Record cancels its debate, 9 October 2026; O Povo, runoff debate calendar, 13 October 2026; Terra, Band keeps debate after Flávio’s withdrawal, 13 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief