The Brazilian presidential election debates of 2010 were held from August 5 to September 30. For the 2010 election, the Superior Electoral Court approved three televised debates, in addition to an unprecedented internet debate. According to the Superior Electoral Court's guidelines, the candidates whose parties are not represented in the lower chamber of the National Congress are not able to participate in televised debates. Such candidates unsuccessfully challenged this decision in order to participate on the debates. The first televised debate took place on August 5, held by Rede Bandeirantes. The last debate was held on September 30 by Rede Globo, the country's leading free-to-air television network. The first debate The first debate was held on August 5, at 9 PM UTC-3, and it was sponsored by Rede Bandeirantes. Dilma Rousseff from the Workers' Party (PT), José Serra from the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Marina Silva from the Green Party (PV), and Plínio de Arruda Sampaio from the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL) were invited, and all of them attended. José Maria de Almeida from the United Socialist Workers' Party (PSTU) tried to participate, but his request was unanimously denied by the Superior Electoral Court. The debate, moderated by Bandeirantes' news anchor Ricardo Boechat, was divided in five blocks of approximately two hours each. This was the first debate broadcast in high-definition television in the country. The topics which dominated the debate were health, public safety, education and infrastructure. Analysis Maurício Caleiro, in an analysis published on Observatório da Imprensa, argued that the candidates' performance "offered no new arguments or data which can decisively influence the polls". Juan Arias, correspondent for El País on Brazil, felt that Rousseff "revealed her inexperience and nervousness with hesitations, slips of speech, repetition and sweat on her face". He felt that Serra, on the other hand, "mastered the subjects, feeling at ease". Contrary to many expectations, the name of the highly popular President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was almost entirely out of the debate. Reaction According to Ibope, the first debate – which aired simultaneously to a soccer match between São Paulo FC and Sport Club Internacional, which were contesting among each other to represent Brazil in the Copa Libertadores finals – was watched by about 5% of viewers (241,000 people) in the Greater São Paulo, while the soccer match was watched by 37%. According to the local press, the time coincidence