Lula widens lead ahead of presidential runoff

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has increased his lead ahead of a presidential runoff later this month, results of an opinion poll released on Wednesday showed.

The poll, conducted by the research institute Datafolha, indicated that Lula would be re-elected with 56 percent of the valid votes, up from 54 percent in the previous poll four days ago, while former Sao Paulo state Governor Geraldo Alckmin's votes fell to 44 percent, down from 46 percent.

The incumbent president has thus opened a 12-percentage-point lead over his opponent, up from the 8-point lead registered in the previous poll.

Researchers interviewed 2,868 voters in 194 towns around the country on Tuesday, just 19 days before the Oct. 29 vote.

It was the first poll conducted following a live debate between the two candidates, broadcast on national TV on Sunday. The poll showed that 39 percent of the interviewees watched the TV debate, entirely or partially.

According to the results, 43 percent of the voters who watched part of the show thought that Alckmin did better in the debate, while 41 percent regarded Lula as the winner of the challenge. Of those who watched the whole TV program, 44 percent said that Lula performed best, against the 42 percent who supported Alckmin.

Alckmin, of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, still leads in the highest social classes (families with a monthly income higher than 1,635 U.S. dollars). But since the previous poll, whose results were released on Friday, he has fallen from 69 percent to 62 percent, while his rival's votes among the wealthiest have risen from 24 percent to 31 percent.

Among the poorest (families with a monthly income lower than 327 U.S. dollars), Lula, of the Workers Party, has 59 percent of the votes, against Alckmin's 32 percent.

Source: Xinhua