MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula regains decisive advantage over Bolsonaro, survey shows

Lula is once again poised for a first-round decisive victory after Bolsonaro had narrowed the gap in previous weeks

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva is once again on track for a landslide victory at this year's Oct. 2 elections over the incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, according to Datafolha's latest survey released Thursday.

After weeks of uncertainty during which he got married and the rightwing Bolsonaro was closing in on most polls, Lula has reportedly regained decisive ground for a likely win in the first round.

The 76-year-old Lula has a 48% voting intention, followed by Bolsonaro's 27%, according to Datafolha's study published by Folha de S. Paulo, thus widening Lula's lead to 21 percentage points.

The gap in March was 17 points after Bolsonaro narrowed the difference. Back in December, Lula also had 48% of the voting intention.

Blank and invalid votes removed, Lula would win in the first round, with 54% of the votes against Bolsonaro's 30%, Thursday's poll showed. In case of runoff on Oct. 30, the Workers' Party (PT) leader would beat the current head of state by 58% to 33%.

This new Datafolha poll also accounted for a deeper polarization between Bolsonaro and Lula after former Lava Jato Judge Sergio Moro and former Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria withdrew their candidacies.

Center-left contender Ciro Gomes took third place with 7%, a slight improvement from 6% in the previous survey, Datafolha said.

Political analyst Creomar de Souza of the Dharma consulting firm said Lula was benefitting from a “lack of improvements in the economy,” while the 67-year-old ”Bolsonaro suffers more from his rejection and has more difficulty speaking outside the bubble (of supporters) than Lula.”

Datafolha interviewed 2,556 people between May 25 and 26 in 181 Brazilian cities, and the results include a margin of error of +/- 2 points.