Lula retains lead over Flavio Bolsonaro ahead of Brazil election, Datafolha poll shows
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Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva launching his re-election campaign at stadium in Brazil on Aug 16.
PHOTO: REUTERS
SAO PAULO – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva continues to lead Senator Flavio Bolsonaro ahead of the October election, although the right-wing challenger has narrowed the gap by one percentage point, a change within the error margin, a Datafolha poll showed on Aug 21.
In a simulated second-round run-off, Lula would receive 47 per cent of the vote against Bolsonaro’s 43 per cent, according to Datafolha, which has an error margin of two percentage points. In July, Lula led Senator Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, by 48 per cent to 43 per cent.
In a first-round scenario, Lula leads with 39 per cent of the votes, followed by Bolsonaro (33 per cent), Ronaldo Caiado (5 per cent), Renan Santos (4 per cent) and Romeu Zema (3 per cent).
If no candidate wins more than 50 per cent of valid votes in the first round, the two frontrunners advance to a run-off, which has happened in every presidential election since 2002.
Lula’s approval rating fell to 47 per cent, Datafolha showed, from 49 per cent in July, while his disapproval rate rose to 50 per cent from 48 per cent.
This was the first Datafolha poll released since the start of the official campaign, when candidates are legally allowed to actively seek votes.
It was also the first Datafolha poll after Brazil’s Supreme Court authorised Federal Police to investigate Lula’s eldest son on suspicion of illicit business dealings involving the federal government.
Senator Bolsonaro saw his poll numbers fall after the revelation in May that he asked a now-jailed banker to finance a film about his father.
Datafolha surveyed 2,058 people starting on Aug 18. REUTERS