As Brazil hurtles toward a runoff in its presidential election, the left-wing candidate, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is flipping on a key issue, saying he now “personally” opposes abortion and will not push to decriminalize it if elected.  

Following Sunday’s debate against his main rival, President Bolsonaro, Mr. da Silva, himself a former president, was criticized for presenting no plan for a new administration. During the debate he declined to present an economic plan or  comment on his corruption scandals.

Nor would Mr. da Silva, often referred to as Lula, respond to an accusation that he would emulate the downhill economic path of fellow leftists in the region. Yet on Wednesday, attempting to gain the support of evangelicals, a sector that represents almost a third of that country’s population, Mr. da Silva reversed his past pro-abortion stance and said he now rejects it. 

During an encounter with a group of evangelical leaders at San Pablo, Mr. da Silva said that respect for his family “has always been the main value” in his life. “I understand the value that family has in the Christian faith,” Mr. da Silva said. He went on to say that “our government project has a commitment to protect life in all its phases.” He added: “I am personally against abortion.” 

Throughout his campaign, Mr. da Silva has supported choice on abortions, saying that the issue is a “public health matter” and that “everyone should have access to” abortion. On Tuesday, during an event at Minas Gerais, Mr. Bolsonaro accused Mr. da Silva of opposing Christian values, and being weak on the defense of family. 

He also said that unlike evangelicals, Mr. da Silva favors abortion. Currently Mr. Bolsonaro stands to get 65 percent of the evangelical vote while Lula would command a mere 31 percent, according to the latest Datafolha institute poll. 

Brazilian law restricts most abortions, permitting them only in cases of rape, a fetus malformation, or a danger to the life of the mother. During Mr. da Silva’s tenure as Brazil’s president, between 2003 and 2010, the country edged toward decriminalizing abortion.

A commission appointed by Mr. da Silva in 2005 proposed a bill to Congress that would decriminalize abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. However, during Mr. da Silva’s second term, the project was stopped in the House of Representatives. 

Following Mr. da Silva’s performance on Sunday’s debate, economists and government officials raised concerns about an absence of an economic plan. He declined even to name his candidate to serve as minister of the economy. Instead, Mr. da Silva told Brazilians to remember the successes of his previous presidency and to trust him.

A former American ambassador to Brazil, Liliana Ayalde, said it is “disappointing” that Mr. da Silva remains focused on the past. During his presidency, she said, Brazil “was a different country.” He didn’t have to deal with a pandemic, for one, and a war that affected the economies of the region was not yet on the horizon.

“And you had a different kind of scenario of the left. Today there’s a very diverse left in the region,” Ms. Ayalde said during an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Now, she added, “Lula would come into a different reality.” 

The candidate that came third in the first round of voting, Simone Tebet, said earlier this month that Mr. da Silva “has undervalued the voter” by not presenting a government plan and only speaking about the past. 

On Wednesday Mr. da Silva’s campaign announced that he would not participate in an upcoming debate, scheduled for Friday. Instead, according to the campaign, the former president plans to attend political events in the state of Minas Gerais, whose governor, Romeu Zema, endorsed Mr. Bolsonaro for the runoff.