Bolsonaro Holds Narrow Lead Within Margin of Error Ahead of Brazil Runoff

[Financial News]  With Brazil's presidential runoff set to take place on the 25th (local time), right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro appears to be locked in a tight race with incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, maintaining a slight lead within the margin of error.
On the 15th, foreign media including the Associated Press reported that a poll released by polling firm Quaest found Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, with 46% support, leading President Lula, who received 44%, by 2 percentage points.
However, the gap is within the margin of error (±2 percentage points), and experts say the race is so close that it is difficult to call a winner.
In the first-round vote held on October 4, Senator Bolsonaro upended major polls that had initially predicted a slight lead for President Lula, pulling off a surprise by defeating Lula by a margin of less than 2 percentage points. Neither candidate secured a majority, so both advanced to the runoff. Quaest's poll is the first released since the first round and shows that Senator Bolsonaro still holds the lead.
Another poll released the same day by polling firm Datafolha also put Senator Bolsonaro ahead of President Lula, at 47% to 45%, but found that the gap in support had narrowed to 2 percentage points from 4 points a week earlier.
Senator Bolsonaro has secured official backing from centrist and center-right parties, consolidating conservative voters and strengthening a pro-business, pro-investor alliance. However, some observers say that right-leaning voters who supported candidates eliminated in the first round are not shifting to Bolsonaro in large numbers to the extent expected.
After suffering a setback in the first round, President Lula is holding large rallies to rally his supporters while making a bold bid for victory by unveiling a series of sweeping social reform policies ahead of the runoff.
Brazil's Senate approved a constitutional amendment on the 14th to reduce the maximum workweek from 44 hours to 40 without cutting wages. The measure was a key pledge by President Lula aimed at winning over workers struggling with high prices and the cost of living.
In a statement, President Lula said, “Today is a day of historic achievement for millions of workers,” adding, “This means the right to enjoy a better life, spend time with family, and rest. Those who built Brazil deserve to live with dignity.”
Lula has also completely banned sports betting, recently blamed for gambling addiction and a surge in household debt, and announced that he would submit to Congress a constitutional amendment guaranteeing free public transit in all cities on weekends to ease transportation costs for low-income households, among other efforts to make an all-out push for votes in the final stretch.

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