Brazil's former leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva still holds a healthy lead in this year's presidential race over right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, according to a new poll released on Monday.
The survey run by MDA Pesquisa and sponsored by the National Transportation Confederation (CNT) showed 42% support for Lula and 28% for Bolsonaro, if the October election were held today.
The results showed a marginal improvement for Bolsonaro compared to MDA's last survey in December, when the incumbent polled at 26% compared to 43% for Lula. Other polls this month have also shown a slightly tighter race.
Although they have not formally declared their candidacies, the rivals made clear their intentions to run. Financial markets have been reacting to signals from Lula about economic proposals if his Workers Party returns to power.
The election is shaping up to be a highly polarized race between the current and former presidents, with little room to date for a third challenger.
Former Ceara Governor Ciro Gomes and former Justice Minister Sergio Moro both polled just shy of 7% in the MDA survey, with the latter slipping from nearly 9% in December. Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria remained stuck on 2%.
The poll of 2,002 potential voters was conducted Feb. 16-19 via in-person interviews, with a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.
(Reporting by Eduardo Simoes and Steven Grattan; Editing by Brad Haynes and Diane Craft)
