Key facts
- Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva leads Flavio Bolsonaro 47% to 46% in a simulated presidential runoff, per a BTG Pactual/Nexus poll.
- In a first-round scenario, Lula leads with 42% of votes, followed by Bolsonaro at 37%.
- The poll surveyed 2,003 people between September 11-13, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
SAO PAULO, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has regained a slim lead over Senator Flavio Bolsonaro in a simulated runoff for the upcoming presidential election, according to a BTG Pactual/Nexus poll released on Monday. The race remains statistically tied, with Lula holding 47% support compared to Bolsonaro's 46% in a potential second round.
Last week, a similar poll showed Bolsonaro numerically ahead of Lula for the first time since March, a development that had boosted Brazilian assets as the senator is considered more market-friendly than the incumbent president.
In a first-round scenario, the latest poll indicates Lula would secure 42% of the votes, with Bolsonaro following at 37%. Other candidates, Augusto Cury, Ronaldo Caiado, and Renan Santos, garnered 6%, 5%, and 2% respectively. In the previous first-round survey, Lula had 39% and Bolsonaro had 35%.
The poll surveyed 2,003 individuals between September 11 and 13, and it carries a margin of error of 2 percentage points. If no candidate wins over 50% of valid votes in the October 4 first round, the top two contenders will proceed to a runoff election on October 25.