Lula's advantage over Bolsonaro in Brazil's October elections narrows -poll

[August 03, 2022]  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva maintains a lead against incumbent right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro ahead of October's presidential election but is losing the strong lead he had in January, a Genial/Quaest poll released on Wednesday showed.

Brazil's former president and presidential frontrunner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva looks on during an annual meeting of the Brazilian scientific community at the University of Brasilia, in Brasilia, Brazil, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo

Lula is seen with 44% voter support in a first-round vote to Bolsonaro's 32%, a 12-point lead that has fallen from 14 points in the previous poll.

In an expected run-off, Lula, a former president, is seen winning with a narrower 14 percentage point gap - taking 51% of the vote versus 37% for Bolsonaro, the Genial/Quaest poll said.

The Genial/Quaest poll also showed that the negative view of Bolsonaro's government fell to 43%, down from the 47% seen in July, while the percentage of those who see the government in a positive light increased one percentage point to 27%.

For 40% of respondents, the country's economic situation remains the biggest issue the nation faces, a smaller percentage if compared to the 44% seen in July.

Pollster Quaest interviewed 2,000 voters in person between July 28 and July 31. The poll has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

(Reporting by Alexandre Caverni; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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