BRASILIA, September 22nd. – The latest polls on Brazil’s presidential campaign continue to show that former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is leading the voting intentions ahead of the next October 2 elections, Telesur Noticias reported.
A recent study by the Intelligence Research and Strategic Consulting Institute (IPEC) showed earlier this week that the PT candidate beat far-right Jair Bolsonaro, the current president of the South American country, by 16 points, who is hoping for re-election.
For its part, the most recent survey published by the Brazilian Datafolha Institute indicates that Lula would receive 45 percent of the votes, i.e. 48 percent of the valid votes, and would have to go to a second round.
This survey also places Bolsonaro nine points behind Lula, while Democratic Labor Party (PDT) candidate Ciro Gomes ranks third in Brazilian voting intent with around 8 percent.
According to reports this week, several left-wing intellectuals and politicians from the Latin America region have sent an open letter to Gomes, urging him to withdraw from his candidacy in order to facilitate Lula’s victory in the first round.
In the Brazilian election scenario, there is concern about political violence and the risk of attacks that Lula’s supporters could face from those of Bolsonaro. Brazil’s electoral court also banned voters from carrying guns 48 hours before election day.