MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Putin congratulates Bolsonaro on Brazil's Bicentennial

Bolsonaro narrowed the gap but would still lose to Lula next month

Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday congratulated his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro on the 200th anniversary of the South American country's Declaration of Independence from Portugal.

Putin and Bolsonaro have a strong relationship stemming from their encounter in Moscow in February this year just a week ahead of the military deployment in Ukraine.

“I am sure that thanks to mutual efforts, we will strengthen the strategic partnership between Russia and Brazil for the sake of our peoples. I sincerely wish good health and success to all your fellow citizens, happiness and prosperity,” Putin's message read.

The Russian leader also pointed out that Brazil is “a well-respected member of the international society who plays an important role in the world economy and actively participates in the resolution of many current issues on the regional and global agenda.”

Brazil was celebrating Wednesday amid still unsubstantiated warnings from opposition politicians that Bolsonaro, a retired Army captain, might want to capitalize on the festivities to stage a revolt.

Meanwhile, the latest Quaest poll released Wednesday showed that former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has 44% of voting intentions for the October 2 Presidential elections, but Bolsonaro narrowed the gap with 34%.

The research showed an improvement of 2 percentage points for the incumbent head of state while Lula's scores remained unchanged, or even dropped from July's 45%.

Ciro Gomes, of the Democratic Labor Party (PDT, center-left) was reported to have 7% support, followed by Simone Tebet's 4%. If no candidate gets 50% or more, there will be a runoff on October 30. In such a scenario, Lula is projected to beat Bolsonaro by 51% against 39%.

(Source: ANSA)