Lula spent the last debate before Brazil's election keeping Jair Bolsonaro on the back foot. The two candidates went face to face for more than two hours in a direct duel. Reports described the tone as relatively constructive compared with the sharper exchanges of earlier rounds. Lula leaned on his working-class biography, setting his factory-floor background against his rival's record. Bolsonaro, in reply, projected a moderated image, tempering the combative style that defined his presidency. With voting days away, each man aimed to reassure wavering voters rather than simply energize his base. The duel's calmer register stood out in a campaign otherwise marked by heated rhetoric.