Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. File photo.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s left-wing presidential candidate, continues to prevail in the electoral race against the current president Jair Bolsonaro. Lula surpasses Bolsonaro by 15 points in the latest poll by the Intelligence Research and Strategic Consulting Institute (IPEC). These results come amid the Brazilian president’s threat to abandon politics if he loses the elections.
According to IPEC’s poll, Lula obtained 46% of the voter preference, while Bolsonaro reached 31%. Meanwhile, former minister Ciro Gomes obtained 7%, and senator Simone Tebet reached 4%.
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Given these results, Lula would receive the amount of votes of all the other candidates combined (46% to 44%). Should these numbers hold, the former president would be elected president in the first round of voting.
However, in the event that there is a second round, the survey shows that Lula would emerge victorious with 53% of the vote, compared to 36% for Bolsonaro.
Similarly, in a survey conducted by the Datafolha Institute, Bolsonaro (34%) remains 11 points behind Lula, who sits comfortably at 45%.
In the midst of the publication of these results, and less than a month before the elections are to be held, President Jair Bolsonaro said on Tuesday that he will withdraw from politics if he loses the elections on October 2.
“If it is God will, I will continue,” Bolsonaro said during an interview. “If not, I will pass the baton and pick myself up. Because at my age, I have nothing else to do here on Earth if my time in politics ends here on December 31 of this year.”
Bolsonaro addressed the youth directly, saying that what they decide in the elections could “mark their future.”
It is worth noting that a return of Lula to the presidency of Brazil would mark a greater consolidation of left in the region, following the election of Gustavo Petro as president of Colombia.
(Red Radio VE) by Ana Perdigón
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/FV/SL
