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On Saturday (17), Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) held rallies in Vitória and Salvador, according to G1, Times Brasil and Folha. In Vitória, he spoke alongside Tarcísio de Freitas and called Jair Bolsonaro “professor”, Folha and Valor reported. In Salvador, he spoke from a trio elétrico on the Barra waterfront, with ACM Neto and Nikolas Ferreira, according to Times Brasil and Folha de Curitiba. An appeals court judge cleared the presentation of the Cidadão Soteropolitano title, ICL Notícias reported. At the TSE, the PL asked to join Lula’s suit against Meta and wants to bar negative boosting against both candidates, according to CNN Brasil and Band. Meta denied favoritism and acknowledged a global technical failure on Oct. 7, according to IstoÉ Dinheiro.

Salvador is Lula territory: he took 65% of valid votes there in the first round. Going to the Northeast with Tarcísio and ACM Neto signals an attempt to cut the PT’s advantage where it is largest. The fight over Meta, meanwhile, determines how much money will be able to buy reach for attacks in the final week.

If the TSE accepts the request, paid ads attacking a candidate should disappear from your feed until the 25th. Organic, unpaid content keeps circulating as normal.

Flávio’s allies say taking the campaign to the Northeast shows national strength and that platforms punish the right more. For them, banning negative boosting only levels the playing field.

PT supporters maintain that Meta reduced Lula’s reach and that the title in Salvador was an electoral use of a public honor. Critics of the PL’s request see inconsistency: the party has itself used boosting against the PT.

It is confirmed that both campaigns accuse Meta and that the TSE has already barred paid videos from both sides. It is not confirmed whether reach was deliberately reduced. Today, watch whether the TSE rules on the request before the last weekend of the campaign.

G1, Times Brasil, Folha de S.Paulo, Valor Econômico, BNews, ICL Notícias, CNN Brasil, Band, IstoÉ Dinheiro — Oct. 16–18, 2026

Politics · Runoff✓ 6 outlets · number of attendees at the rallies not confirmed

Flávio Bolsonaro takes his campaign to Vitória and Salvador as dispute with Lula over Meta reach lands at the TSE

One week before the October 25 runoff, the two candidates split their schedules between street rallies and a legal fight over the boosting of content on social networks.

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) spent Saturday (17) at campaign rallies in Espírito Santo and Bahia, according to G1 and Times Brasil. In Vitória, according to Folha de S.Paulo and Valor Econômico, he spoke alongside São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas and called his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, “professor”. In Salvador, the portal BNews reported that supporters had already held a motorcade through the Pituba and Barra neighborhoods on Friday night (16), as a warm-up for the next day’s rally. On Saturday, Times Brasil and Folha de Curitiba reported that the candidate spoke from atop a trio elétrico on the Barra waterfront, accompanied by ACM Neto, Tarcísio and Congressman Nikolas Ferreira, among others. According to ICL Notícias, an appeals court judge that same day overturned the suspension of the ceremony in which Mayor Bruno Reis presented Flávio with the title of Cidadão Soteropolitano (honorary citizen of Salvador), which critics had challenged as an electoral use of the honor. Times Brasil recalled that in the first round Lula took 65.26% of valid votes in the Bahian capital, against 27.03% for Flávio.

Away from the streets, the dispute advanced at the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). CNN Brasil reported that Flávio’s campaign asked to join as an interested party in the suit that Lula’s (PT) campaign has brought against Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram. According to the network and Band, the PL’s lawyers argue that the senator is harmed more by the platform than the president is, because negative ads against him would remain online, and ask the court to bar, until the end of the runoff, the paid boosting of negative advertising against either candidate, with a daily fine of R$ 500,000 for noncompliance. IstoÉ Dinheiro and Band reported that Meta answered the TSE by denying any favoritism toward Flávio, called the accusation by the PT campaign unsubstantiated and acknowledged a technical failure of global reach on Oct. 7, which, according to the company, was not aimed at any campaign. Before that, according to Diário do Grande ABC and Times Brasil, Justice André Mendonça had already barred the boosting of attack videos by both campaigns, one decision for each side.

Open the story and DailyDrop’s take

25/10runoff date

R$ 500,000daily fine the PL asks of the TSE

65.26%Lula’s votes in Salvador in the 1st round

Politics · Investigation✓ 4 outlets · no plea deal has been signed

Lobbyist under investigation with Lulinha says she wants a plea deal and will not spare Lula

Businesswoman Roberta Luchsinger, investigated by the Federal Police (PF) in inquiries that also involve Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, known as Lulinha, said in an interview with CNN Brasil on Saturday (17) that she intends to seek a plea deal and does not intend to spare anyone, neither the president nor his son. According to Gazeta do Povo and Revista Oeste, she called Lula a “bad character”, a “liar” and a “coward” and said Lulinha frequently met with ministers. Estadão and Metrópoles also recorded the statement. According to Gazeta do Povo, Luchsinger did not say whether formal negotiations with the PF or the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) are already under way, and the mentions of a Portuguese construction company were presented as conversations she says she overheard, with no documents. The Presidency’s Communication Secretariat denied irregularities and said Lula is unaware of the facts reported. The three inquiries in the case are proceeding at the Supreme Federal Court (STF), and Lulinha’s defense denies any connection to the payments under investigation, according to earlier reports by Correio da Manhã and Revista Oeste.

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Inside

Pope Leo XIV discharged in Rome four days after lung cancer surgeryAt Gemelli Hospital, doctors confirmed adenocarcinoma after removal of the lower lobe of the right lung, according to IstoÉ. The Vatican has not yet disclosed the stage of the disease.World · ✓ 4 outlets

US sends about 600 troops to train forces in Panama, Colombia and HondurasThe official aim is combating drug trafficking, according to O Povo. Part of the contingent is expected to take part in the Southern Vanguard exercise at the end of October.World · ✓ 3 outlets

Meta tells TSE it did not favor Flávio Bolsonaro and admits technical failure on Oct. 7The company called the Lula campaign’s accusation unsubstantiated, according to IstoÉ Dinheiro and Band. The failure, it said, was global in reach.Politics · ✓ 3 outlets

Court clears the way, and Flávio receives Salvador honorary citizen title at rallyAn appeals court judge overturned the ceremony’s suspension on Saturday, according to ICL Notícias. Mayor Bruno Reis presented the title to the candidate at the Barra rally.Politics · ✓ 2 outlets

Zelensky says US sanctions relief for Russia should continue after diesel dealHe said the decision on the Graham law and the diesel deal will not be the last steps, according to CNBC. American Democrats also criticized the move.World · ✓ 3 outlets

Economy · Public finances✓ 3 outlets · original IFI study not read directly

IFI puts the Lula government’s 2026 package of measures at R$ 298.4 billion

The Independent Fiscal Institution (IFI), linked to the Senate, estimated at R$ 298.4 billion the set of economic measures and benefits announced by the Lula government this year, according to Gazeta do Povo and Times Brasil. Of the total, according to the reports, R$ 93.8 billion has a direct impact on the primary balance and R$ 185.7 billion is subsidized-interest credit lines, which are expected to return to the Union. The IFI itself noted that the figures add up operations of different natures and do not amount to a single additional expense. The list includes the expansion of the income tax exemption, the Bolsa Família increase, credit programs, incentives for microentrepreneurs and fuel subsidies. Folha de S.Paulo published on Saturday (17) its own survey of the package and its effect on public debt. IFI director Alexandre Seijas said the primary surplus target currently in force is not enough to stabilize the debt, which the institution calculates would require a primary surplus of 2.1% of GDP. The government denies the measures have an electoral character, according to Gazeta do Povo.

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World · War in Ukraine✓ 5 outlets · economic reach of the suspension not quantified

Trump suspends tariffs and sanctions under new law against Russia, and Zelensky says the move only helps Moscow

US President Donald Trump signed on Friday (16) an order suspending the sanctions and tariffs set out in the law on sanctions against Russia and Iran named for Senator Lindsey Graham, which he himself had signed into law last month, CNBC and NBC News reported. The penalties would have taken effect this Sunday (18). According to CNBC, the law provided for raising tariffs on Russian products by up to 500% and imposing tariffs of up to 100% on countries such as China and India that buy Russian oil; earlier sanctions, based on executive orders, remain in force. NBC reported that Trump defended the decision as “very good” and that it adds to a recent agreement with Vladimir Putin to release Russian diesel onto the world market. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, called the move wrong, said it only helps the Russians and said he expects further relief, according to CNBC, The Hill and G1.

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World · Europe✓ 5 outlets · attendance figures differ between government and union

Cost-of-living protests draw more than half a million in France and end with Limoges city hall in flames

Demonstrations against the cost of living and education cuts brought about 550,000 people onto the streets of France on Saturday (17), according to an Interior Ministry estimate cited by CNN; the CGT union confederation put the figure at 800,000. Most of the rallies were peaceful, but violent groups attacked public buildings and shops, Australia’s ABC reported. In Limoges, according to ABC and G1, masked people burned a municipal police car and then set fire to the city hall, built in 1883, whose roof collapsed. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu reported about 1,200 arrests and 150 police officers injured and blamed the far left, according to i24 and CNN. President Emmanuel Macron promised to punish those responsible. In Lyon, demonstrators set fire to the city’s tourist office, according to CNN.

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In brief

Pope Leo XIV leaves the hospitalThe pope was discharged from Gemelli Hospital in Rome four days after having part of his right lung removed, according to IstoÉ and Imirante.
Limoges loses its historic city hallThe city hall, dating from 1883, was set on fire during the protests; the regional prefect said two-thirds of the building was lost, ABC reported.
More than 1,200 detained in FrancePrime Minister Sébastien Lecornu cited about 1,200 arrests and 150 injured police officers, according to i24 and CNN.
US troops in the regionAbout 600 US troops are to train in Panama, Colombia and Honduras, according to O Povo and Defesa em Foco.
Panama disputes the numberThe US embassy in Panama said only 120 troops are in the country, on a two-week course, according to O Povo.
Drones for Colombia and EcuadorMQ-9 Reaper aircraft are being moved from Africa to the two countries, O Povo and Maringá Post reported.

Seven minutes every morning, one front page

Unverified — what we could not confirm

Roberta Luchsinger has already signed a plea deal with the PF. False so far: she told CNN Brasil she wants to cooperate, but Gazeta do Povo reports there is no deal and no confirmed negotiation.

Trump lifted all sanctions against Russia. Imprecise: CNBC reports that only the penalties under the new law were suspended; earlier sanctions remain.

Meta admitted it deliberately cut Lula’s reach. False: according to IstoÉ Dinheiro, the company acknowledged a global technical failure on Oct. 7 and denied any targeting.

What to watch today

Today · Sun, October 18Pope Leo XIV is expected to appear for the Sunday blessing; the date on which the Graham law sanctions would have taken effect arrives, now suspended.This weekLast week of the campaign; the TSE may rule on the PL’s request on boosting at Meta.LaterRunoff on October 25; the Southern Vanguard exercise begins at the end of the month.For youBefore sharing a political ad, check whether it is paid content and who funds it in the platform’s ad library.

Glossary · dotted words — politics, economics, law, security and science terms explained in the context of the story. The list grows every day.

INSIDEFlávio Bolsonaro takes his campaign to Vitória and Salvador as dispute with Lula over Meta reach lands at the TSEPolitics · RunoffLobbyist under investigation with Lulinha says she wants a plea deal and will not spare LulaPolitics · InvestigationIFI puts the Lula government’s 2026 package of measures at R$ 298.4 billionEconomy · Public financesTrump suspends tariffs and sanctions under new law against Russia, and Zelensky says the move only helps MoscowWorld · War in UkraineCost-of-living protests draw more than half a million in France and end with Limoges city hall in flamesWorld · Europe