An opinion poll by Instituto Datafolha published Wednesday in the daily Folha de Sao Paulo confirmed the results of a study carried out by Instituto Sensus, which showed a marked decline in support for Lula's main rival, former Sao Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin.
According to Datafolha, leftist Lula of the Workers' Party (PT) has the support of 47 per cent of his countrymen - an increase of three percentage points since July and nearly twice the support of his nearest rival, Social Democrat Alckmin.
Alckmin lost four percentage points, to 24 per cent, down from 28 per cent last month. Far-leftist senator Heloisa Helena - a dissident from Lula's PT - would get 12 per cent of the vote, according to Datafolha.
In an interview with a Sao Paulo radio station, the Brazilian president said Wednesday that he is happy with these predictions, but indicated that he does not take reelection for granted.
'I learnt early not to doubt opinion polls, but I do not take them as consumated fact either. The opinion poll is like a photograph - today it shows one thing; in a month it will appear differently, whether better or worse,' Lula said.
Political analysts in Brazil, however, recall that the incumbent's current advantage is greater than that which his predecessor Fernando Henrique Cardoso enjoyed in August 1998, two months before he was reelected.
Lula, age 60 and a former trade union leader, became president of Brazil in January 2003, and seeks reelection in a vote in which more than 121 million of Brazil's 188 million citizens are expected to participate on October 1.
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