SAO PAULO: Brazilian presidential candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's lead over President Jair Bolsonaro has shrunk to 5 percentage points ahead of a run-off vote set for October 30, a poll by Genial/Quaest showed on Wednesday.
Former President Lula has 47 per cent voter support, down from the last week's 49 per cent, while Bolsonaro gained 1 point to 42 per cent. Pollsters were widely criticised after the first-round vote for significantly underestimating support for Bolsonaro.
The survey by pollster Genial/Quaest interviewed 2,000 people between October 16 and 18 and has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
Meanwhile, Lula da Silva criticised football star Neymar's support of far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, accusing the player of being motivated by a debt "pardon".
Last month, Neymar endorsed hardline conservative Bolsonaro as he fights to win re-election in his October 30 run-off battle against leftist ex-leader Lula. "Neymar has the right to choose whoever he wants to be president. I think he is afraid that if I win the election I will find out what Bolsonaro pardoned from his income tax debt," Lula said in a YouTube interview on Tuesday.
"I think that's why he's afraid of me," Lula added, laughing, when asked about Neymar's support for the president.
Expectations of a close contest have pushed both sides to intensify their attacks before the run-off, with Lula the frontrunner after the first-round election on October 2.
"Obviously, Bolsonaro made a deal with (Neymar's) father. He now has an income tax problem in Spain," Lula said, alluding to a favourable ruling the player obtained in a tax evasion trial in Brazil, as well as the charges he faces in Barcelona for alleged irregularities in his 2013 club transfer.
Lula added that it was ultimately a problem for the country's tax collection agency, and not him. - AFP
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