The leftist leader maintains 49% of the support, while the far-right president concentrates 44% ahead of the definition of the Brazilian elections, according to a new survey by the Datafolha Institute that repeated the figures from a week ago.
Taking into account only the valid votes (without blanks or null), Lula would win the election with 53%, and Bolsonaro would remain with 47%, according to the survey, which interviewed 2,898 voters in 180 cities and contemplates a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points.
The figures were released in the midst of an attack by the president and allies against the pollsters, accused of having underestimated the strong support he received in the first round of October 2 to harm him.
Datafolha, for example, gave Lula a 14 percentage point advantage over Bolsonaro on the eve of the elections.
But the president finished just five points behind, with 43% of the vote, against 48% for Lula.
Faced with strong questioning, the results of the survey are published in the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, under the clarification that they represent “a photograph” that “does not necessarily predict the votes.”
On Thursday, the Federal Police opened an investigation at the request of the Ministry of Justice, which pointed to the pollsters for possible “criminal practices.” The authority that watches over free competition also launched an investigation into the institutes.
However, both were suspended by the president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Alexandre de Moraes, a decision questioned by Bolsonaro, who assured on Friday that the pollsters “will continue to lie.”
The entrance Lula continues with a stable advantage over Bolsonaro towards the ballot in Brazil was first published in diary TODAY.
