SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s lead in the Brazilian presidential race continued to narrow, a new poll showed on Monday, although voters still overwhelmingly disapproved of how President Jair Bolsonaro has governed.
The survey by pollster FSB Pesquisa found that Lula, a former union leader who was president from 2003 to 2010, had the upper hand in a first-round vote, with 41% of voter intentions, compared to 32% for the right-wing incumbent.
That nine-point gap was down from a lead of 14 percentage points for Lula in FSB’s survey last month, adding to evidence that Bolsonaro has made the race more competitive this year as the focus on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic recedes.
In a simulated second-round runoff, FSB’s latest poll found Lula would beat Bolsonaro 52% to 37%, compared to a spread of 54% to 35% last month.
Rejection of Bolsonaro remains high, the survey showed, with 61% disapproving of how he governs, in line with last month.
FSB conducted its latest poll, financed by investment bank BTG Pactual, via telephone interviews with 2,000 potential voters between April 22-24, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points in either direction.
(Reporting by Steven Grattan; Editing by Brad Haynes and Bernadette Baum)
