Bolsonaro leads the first runoff poll in Brazil with a four-point advantage over Lula, according to Datafolha

Bolsonaro leads the first poll for the runoff in Brazil with a four-point lead over Lula, according to Datafolha Senator and candidate Flávio Bolsonaro leads with 49% of voting intentions compared to 45% for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the first poll ahead of the second round of Brazil's presidential elections, scheduled for October 25. The poll, released Thursday by the Datafolha consultancy, shows a four-percentage-point difference between the two candidates, within the margin of error of two points plus or minus, so the firm considers it a technical tie. According to the study, 5% of respondents intend to cast a blank or null vote, while 1% are still undecided. Among those who have already chosen a candidate, 94% say they are fully decided to keep their vote and 6% admit they could still change their minds. Flávio Bolsonaro, candidate of the Liberal Party (PL), was the most voted in last Sunday's first round, with 47.03% of the votes. Lula, who is seeking reelection for the progressive Workers' Party (PT), obtained 45.16%. The difference between the two was less than two percentage points. The ballot box results contradicted the forecasts of all the polls before the first round, which projected a technical tie but placed the progressive leader in first place. Since neither candidate obtained more than half the votes on Sunday, the two most voted will have to decide the Presidency in a second round, scheduled for October 25. The Datafolha poll also asked voters about the reasons for their preference. Among those who intend to vote for Lula, 84% said they will do so because they consider the president the best candidate, while 13% said their intention is to defeat the rival contender. Among voters who intend to vote for Flávio Bolsonaro, 69% said they choose him because they consider him the best candidate and 25% said their goal is to defeat Lula. Flávio Bolsonaro, candidate of the Liberal Party (PL), was the most voted in last Sunday's first round, with 47.03% of the votes (EFE) The consultancy interviewed 2,520 voters between Tuesday and Thursday. According to Datafolha, the study has a margin of error of two percentage points plus or minus and a confidence level of 95%. After the first-round results, Flávio Bolsonaro began negotiating with various parties and with defeated candidates to gather support ahead of the runoff. The opposition senator contested the first round with the backing of his own political party alone. For the second round, he will have the support of almost all of Brazil's right-wing and center-right parties, including Republicanos, Progressistas, União Brasil, Novo and Podemos. Lula, for his part, began preparing a new communication strategy with his advisers for the campaign ahead of October 25, with special attention to social media. The president seeks to reverse the result of the first round. The two candidates will be able to resume their radio and television campaigns next Friday. In addition, they agreed to participate in at least one televised debate before the second round. The debates scheduled before the first round had to be canceled because the two favorite candidates refused to participate. (With information from EFE)