Brazil’s ex-leader still leads in polls after arrest

In a race among 16 potential candidates, the poll showed Da Silva topped conservative lawmaker Jair Bolsonaro 30-15 per cent, with Marina Silva running third.

In another possible combination of candidates, da Silva topped Bolsonaro 31-17 per cent.

Da Silva’s ratings dipped slightly from a January Datafolha poll when he was backed by 34 to 37 per cent. But it’s not clear if that was due to his legal problems to or a different combination of rivals. Several contenders listed in that poll have dropped out or been added, making a direct comparison impossible.

Da Silva’s Workers’ Party has pledged to register him on the Aug.15 deadline, but current electoral law bars his candidacy.

In scenarios without the left-leaning leader, Bolsonaro and former Environment Minister Silva are roughly even, with about 17 to 15 points.

On Friday, Bolsonaro was charged with racism by Brazil’s attorney general, but the poll was completed before the news broke.

The biggest mover in the new poll is former Justice Joaquim Barbosa, the first black member of the country’s top court. The poll showed him with a least 8 per cent backing.

President Michel Temer, who says he is considering a run, never topped 2 per cent support in any scenario. His former Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles, seen as a favourite of businessmen, was backed by 1 per cent.

Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo, said the new poll shows da Silva remains powerful, and even if he is barred from running, he could be a kingmaker from jail.

The poll also found that 54 per cent of Brazilians consider Da Silva’s arrest to be fair, while 40 per cent disagree. Six per cent did not respond.

Silva was sentenced to 12 years and one month in prison, allegedly for accepting the promise of a beachfront apartment a kickback from construction company OAS.

A former CEO of the company testified under a plea bargain that the apartment was reserved for the former president, but da Silva says he never owned it or lived there and made one only visit to consider a business opportunity that didn’t materialize.

Da Silva still faces seven other graft trials.

Datafolha interviewed 4.194 people between Wednesday and Friday. The margin of error is 2 percentage points.

Mauricio Savarese, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Brazil’s ex-leader still leads in polls after arrest

What's Trending