Brazilian far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had a heated first presidential debate, their first chance to challenge each other face to face. 

Hardly a minute went by without the candidates trading jabs and insults as they squared off Sunday in their debate, two weeks from Brazil's neck-and-neck presidential election.

Lula bashed Bolsonaro, calling him a "little dictator" and the "king of fake news," accusing him of lying, and having a "disgraceful" record of corruption.

The ex-President (2003-2010) was particularly harsh in his criticism of Bolsonaro's handling of Covid-19, which has killed 687,000 people in Brazil, second only to the United States.

"Your negligence led to 680,000 people dying, when more than half could have been saved," the ex-metalworker said.

Bolsonaro, 67, sought to play the blame game, shifting the focus to the issue of corruption.

"Your past is disgraceful... You did nothing for Brazil but stuff public money in your pockets and those of your friends," Bolsonaro said, calling Lula a "national shame."

"Lula, stop lying, it's bad for you at your age," said Bolsonaro.

War of words

It's just the latest in the war of words between Bolsonaro and Lula. Their latest accusations implied Bolsonaro was a pedophile, with Lula allies calling the President a "depraved criminal" and expressing "disgust" for comments he made on visiting a house last year where a group of underage Venezuelan girls were seemingly working as prostitutes.

Lula did not mention the issue during the debate, but he did wear a lapel pin for an anti-child sex abuse campaign.

It is worth noting Brazil's presidential election took an unusual turn last week when incumbent Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was targeted on social media with accusations of cannibalism.

As has been the case for much of the campaign, personal attacks took precedence over substantive debate.

Bolsonaro, who was elected in 2018 on a wave of anti-establishment outrage, has lost support from the political center due to his combative political style, poor economic performance, rampant Amazon rainforest destruction, and the carnage of Covid-19.

Read more: ‘I’d eat an Indian’: Linking Bolsonaro to cannibalism hits headlines