MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil's Silva Leading Election

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva widened his lead over rival Geraldo Alckmin, the former governor of the country's richest and most-populous state, in a Datafolha poll.

Lula's lead over Alckmin, of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, rose to 19 percentage points in a poll conducted Oct. 16- 17 from 11 points in an Oct. 10 survey, the pollster said on its Web site. Lula gained support after he successfully stepped up his criticism of Alckmin and claimed the former Sao Paulo governor would cut federal aid and try to privatize some government assets, Fleischer said.

''By saying that Alckmin would privatize state assets, Lula touched on a point that the Brazilian electorate is very sensitive about,'' said David Fleischer, a political science professor at the University of Brasilia. ''Alckmin is making a mistake by not talking down those points because he's still lecturing to a more educated and affluent population and not talking in the language of the common Brazilian.''

Alckmin has said he doesn't plan to sell off assets of state-controlled companies, such as Petroleo Brasileiro SA.

Support for Lula in the latest poll rose to 57 percent from 51 percent in the previous survey, while support for Alckmin fell to 38 percent from 40 percent of total votes. Excluding blank and invalid votes, Lula received 60 percent support and Alckmin got 40 percent, Datafolha said.

Lula's backing in the Southeast, which accounts for 44 percent of the country's voters, rose to 52 percent from 45 percent in the previous poll, while backing for Alckmin fell to 41 percent from 45 percent.

''Lula's chances of winning the run-off election are now 70 percent, especially because he surpassed Alckmin in the Southeast region, including the state of Sao Paulo, where he lost in the first round,'' Fleischer said in a phone interview.

The survey of 7,133 voters in 348 cities in the country had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

In the Oct. 1 first-round election, Lula took 49 percent of the votes, compared with Alckmin's 42 percent. That forced both candidates into a runoff on Oct. 29.