Flavio Bolsonaro’s ‘corrupto’ stunt sparks viral meme before Brazil election runoff

Flávio Bolsonaro during last Sunday’s televised presidential debate. Photograph: Allison Sales/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

To Flávio Bolsonaro and his publicists, it must have seemed an ingenious idea that would expose his rival’s supposed crookedness on the eve of Brazil’s presidential election.

But the far-right politician’s decision to attend a primetime television debate against his leftwing opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, with the word “corrupto” (corrupt) written on the palm of his hand has backfired.