Lula holds slim lead over Flavio Bolsonaro ahead of Brazil election

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva maintains a slim lead over right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro in the race for Brazil's presidency, a new Quaest poll indicates. The survey suggests a tightly contested election, with Lula projected to win 43 percent of the vote in a simulated run-off compared to Bolsonaro's 40 percent, a margin within the poll's two-point margin of error.

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I want to be prepared, so that no one invades this country.

These figures represent a narrowing of Lula's advantage from an earlier August 5 poll, which showed him ahead by a wider five-point margin. In a first-round scenario, Lula garners 38 percent support, while Bolsonaro trails at 31 percent. Other candidates, including Renan Santos and Ronaldo Caiado, each polled at 4 percent, and Romeu Zema at 2 percent.

Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, has become the standard-bearer for the right wing after his father was disqualified from running. The elder Bolsonaro was ruled ineligible due to an abuse of power conviction and a separate plot to overturn his 2022 election loss to Lula.

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In Brazil, we do not accept anyone sticking their nose where it does not belong.

Lula, who launched his re-election bid on August 2, has positioned himself as a defender of Brazilian "sovereignty." He has called for increased defense spending and pledged to protect Brazil's reserves of rare earths and other critical minerals from foreign control. Lula has also warned against foreign interference in the election, specifically referencing the United States and China, stating that Brazil will not accept external meddling in its affairs.

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Don’t meddle in the Brazilian elections, because the Brazilian elections are a Brazilian problem, just as American elections are their business, not mi