Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a TV Globo interview Thursday night that he now supports lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 18 to 16 for "heinous" crimes, The Guardian and G1 reported. The Guardian described it as a reversal of a longstanding position, and G1 reported that it was the first time in the campaign that Lula had stated a position on the issue.

"My view, as a Brazilian citizen, is that for any and every heinous crime, I am in favour of lowering the age," Lula said, according to The Guardian's translation. He answered yes when asked whether he meant lowering it to 16, The Guardian reported. Under the idea Lula backed, people 16 and older who commit heinous crimes, such as aggravated murder, robbery resulting in death, kidnapping for ransom and rape, could be held criminally responsible as adults, G1 reported.

Lula said the change should be debated separately from a public security constitutional amendment now before Congress, G1 reported. Earlier Thursday, Workers' Party Senate leader Camilo Santana proposed adding a cut to 16 for heinous crimes to that amendment, a move that divided government allies, and Senate President Davi Alcolumbre pulled the amendment from the agenda after no deal was reached, G1 reported.

Flávio Bolsonaro and his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, have long supported lowering the age to 14, The Guardian reported. Flávio Bolsonaro signed an opposition proposal that would cut the age to 16 for most crimes and to 14 for a list of serious crimes, G1 reported. About 80% of Brazilians support lowering the age, according to polls cited by The Guardian. Human rights groups and security experts have long argued that such proposals do little to curb violence and feed recruitment into organized crime in Brazil's crowded prisons, The Guardian reported. Brazil's Catholic bishops' conference criticized the proposal for "not addressing the causes of violence," The Guardian reported.

Lula faces Flávio Bolsonaro in a runoff in just over a week, after Bolsonaro won the first round and stayed slightly ahead in polls, The Guardian reported.

What we know: Lula has publicly backed lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 16 for heinous crimes, reversing his past stance.
What we don't: Whether Congress will take up the change, or how it will affect the runoff.