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Brazil's Lula tied with Senator Flavio Bolsonaro in second-round in Datafolha poll

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva looks on, as he speaks to reporters following his White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, at the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 7, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva looks on, as he speaks to reporters following his White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, at the Brazilian Embassy in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 7, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz Reuters

SAO PAULO - A second-round runoff in October between Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro would result in a draw, the latest Datafolha poll released on Saturday indicated.

• According to the poll, a second-round runoff between Lula and Flavio, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, would see both men draw 45% of the vote.

• In April, the poll showed Lula attracting 45% and Flavio 46% in the runoff, a statistical tie due to the poll's margin of error of approximately two percentage points.

• According to the poll of 2,004 voters, Lula would get 38% in the first round, while Flavio would secure second place with 35%.

• The majority of the interviews for the latest poll took place before Intercept Brasil published a story about Flavio's relationship with former banker Daniel Vorcaro.

• According to the story, Flavio allegedly negotiated the receipt of 134 million reais ($26.5 million) with Vorcaro, the former owner of Banco Master, to finance a film about the life of his father.

• Vorcaro is currently imprisoned amid an investigation into a scandal over Banco Master's collapse.

• Flavio has denied any wrongdoing in his relationship with Vorcaro. Vorcaro's defense team previously declined to comment on the Intercept Brasil report.

($1 = 5.06 Brazilian reais)

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(Reporting by Bernardo Caram; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Will Dunham)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 10:10 AM.

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