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Lula at 50%, Would Win Brazilian Ballot
- Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva could be re-elected in Brazil, according to a poll by Datafolha published in Folha de Sao Paulo. 50 per cent of respondents would support the Worker's Party (PT) incumbent in next month's presidential election.
Former Sao Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin of the Brazilian Party of Social Democracy (PSDB) is second with 29 per cent, followed by former PT member and senator Heloisa Helena of the Socialism and Freedom Party with nine per cent, and former education minister Cristovam Buarque of the Democratic Labour Party (PDT) with two per cent.
Lula—a three-time presidential candidate—won the October 2002 election with 61 per cent of the vote in a run-off against the PSDB's Jose Serra. In the first round, Lula received 47 per cent of the vote, while Serra garnered 24 per cent. In a prospective run-off against Alckmin, Lula holds an 18-point edge.
Last year, the Brazilian government was the target of criticism after Brazilian Labour Party (PTB) member Roberto Jefferson declared that members of two political organizations—the Liberal Party (PL) and the Progressive Party (PP)—received payments of up to $12,000 U.S. from the government in exchange for support in the legislative branch. Jefferson has so far provided no evidence to back his allegations.
On Sept. 15, lawyer Gedimar Passos was arrested in Sao Paulo in possession of $790,000 U.S. in cash. Passos, who works for Lula's campaign, allegedly was going to use the money to acquire documents that would implicate two PSDB members—Alckmin and Serra—in a corruption case.
Yesterday, Lula dismissed allegations that his party was involved in dirty campaign practices, saying, "Why would my campaign be interested in such business? I'm in a highly favourable position. It's not part of my political past—and I've done four elections—to dig through people's lives in order to campaign."
The presidential election is scheduled for Oct. 1. If no candidate garners more than 50 per cent of all cast ballots, a run-off will take place on Oct. 29.
Polling Data
If the 2006 presidential election took place today, and the candidates were these, who would you vote for?
Sept. 19 | Sept. 12 | Sept. 5 | |
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) | 50% | 50% | 51% |
Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB) | 29% | 28% | 27% |
Heloisa Helena (PSOL) | 9% | 9% | 9% |
Cristovam Buarque (PDT) | 2% | 1% | 1% |
Ana Maria Rangel (PRP) | -- | 1% | 1% |
Run-Off Scenario
Sept. 19 | Sept. 12 | Sept. 5 | |
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) | 55% | 55% | 55% |
Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB) | 38% | 38% | 37% |
Source: Datafolha / Folha de Sao Paulo
Methodology: Interviews with 7,735 Brazilian adults, conducted on Sept. 18 and Sept. 19, 2006. Margin of error is 2 per cent.