Bolsonaro ahead of Lula in Brazil's runoff polls

Opinion polls have revealed that Flavio Bolsonaro, the Liberal Party (PL) candidate who took first place in the first round of the Brazilian presidential election, is ahead of the Workers' Party (PT) candidate Luiz Inacio Lula Dasiva, the incumbent president, in the runoff election to be held on the 25th.

According to the results of a survey of candidates supporting the presidential runoff election announced on the 9th (local time) by public opinion polling agency Atlas Intel, Senator Bolsonaro had an approval rating of 51.1%, beating President Lula, who had only 45.7%, outside the margin of error.

In a survey by Datapolya, Brazil's largest public opinion polling agency, released the night before, candidate Bolsonaro was expected to lead President Lula (45%) with an approval rating of 49%. However, in the Datapolya survey, the gap between the two candidates was within the margin of error.

After the surprise victory in the first round of voting, the political situation is shaping up to be favorable to Bolsonaro in many ways. Augusto Curri, who came in third place after Bolsonaro and Lula in the first round of voting, officially declared his support for Bolsonaro on this day.

Unlike Bolsonaro, who is enjoying favorable opinion poll results and growing support, Lula's situation is worsening. This is because the economic situation, which was cited as a factor in the defeat in the first round, is worsening.

September consumer prices announced today showed an increase of 4.58% compared to the same period last year. This figure is slightly above the Brazilian Central Bank's inflation rate target upper limit (4.5%). In particular, it is a painful point for President Lula that the rise in prices has been driven by electricity bills and housing costs, which have a large impact on the daily lives of voters.

Although the weather vane of the presidential election victory points to Bolsonaro, Lula is seeking opportunities for a reversal by targeting swing voters, strengthening social media (SNS) communication, and reorganizing the presidential campaign.

At a press conference the day before, President Lula said, "I don't evaluate opinion polls and I don't work that way. I know that to win the election I need to get more votes than Flavio, so I work accordingly. I have 17 days to do that."