LEFTIST challenger Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s lead over far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro narrowed slightly on the eve of Brazil’s polarizing presidential runoff, according to a poll published last night.

Lula has 52% voter support to 48% for Bolsonaro, according to the poll from the Datafolha institute – down from a six-point gap (53% to 47% ) on Thursday.

The figures exclude voters who plan to cast blank or spoiled ballots – 4% of respondents, Datafolha estimates. Undecided voters represented just 2%.

The margin of error for the poll, which was based on interviews with 8,308 people on Friday and yesterday, was plus or minus two percentage points.

According to Datafolha, only half of those polled watched an insult-filled final debate between the rivals on Friday night, 19% of them until the end.

The poll indicated that 37% thought Lula had come out on top during the debate, while 29% thought Bolsonaro had performed best.

Lula, the charismatic but tarnished ex-president who led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, won the first round of the election on October 2 with 48% of the vote, to 43% for former army captain Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro and his allies have attacked polling firms, accusing them of bias.

He outperformed pollsters’ expectations in the first round, triumphantly boasting afterward: “We beat the lie.”

Lula, 77, leads among women (51%), the poor and working-class (57%), and Catholics (56 %), according to Datafolha.

Bolsonaro, 67, leads among evangelical Christians (65%) and wealthier voters (52%). – AFP, October 30, 2022.