Brazil's leading presidential candidates snub TV debate ahead of Sunday's election

SAO PAULO -- SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and opposition candidate Flávio Bolsonaro snubbed a planned debate ahead of the first round of the presidential election, depriving 158 million voters from watching them face off. A debate organized by TV Globo, the country’s most popular broadcaster, was set for Thursday and offered the final opportunity for the two presidential front-runners to face off before polls open on Sunday. The cancellation marks the first time in 20 years that Brazil's leading candidates have rejected any public confrontation. Other media companies and business groups have organized debates with other candidates since Aug. 23.Lula said Wednesday he would not attend the TV Globo debate that was scheduled to include Bolsonaro and two other candidates. Hours before the event was set to begin in Rio de Janeiro, Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, also bowed out. The broadcaster said in a statement that the debate was canceled because two rulings, one from the country’s electoral court and the other from Brazil’s Supreme Court, had created “legal uncertainty” about the event. The first decision ordered TV Globo to re...