Even after three judges from Brazil’s Fourth Regional Federal Court, TRF-4, unanimously upheld his 2017 corruption conviction — a case many observers deem lawfare at its finest — former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva continues to top this year’s presidential poll.
The survey, which was undertaken by Datafolha and published in the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, revealed that if Lula is allowed to run, he would receive 34 percent of the first-round vote. His closest opponent is right-wing presidential hopeful Jair Bolsonaro, who would receive 16 percent of votes. Coming in at third place is the environmentalist and two-time presidential candidate, Marina Silva, registering eight percent of votes.
While some contend that the judicial decision essentially knocks Lula out of October’s election, the Workers’ Party has vowed to “confirm Lula’s (presidential) candidacy during our party convention and register him on Aug. 15, rigorously adhering to the electoral legislation.”
Brazil’s Supreme Court rejected a habeas corpus request submitted by Lula’s legal defense team to prevent the possible detainment of their client as ordered by TRF-4, according to Terra. The lawyers claimed that complying with the order is unconstitutional.
The survey went on to show that if Lula is barred from running, Bolsonaro would take the lead and move on to the second round of voting, according to Reuters. However, the right-wing candidate would lose badly in a runoff with Silva.
Datafolha compiled its data by interviewing 2,826 people across Brazil between Jan. 29-30, only days after appellate court judges ruled to uphold Lula’s sentence on claims that he and his late wife, Marisa Leticia, illicitly received a beachfront apartment, renovations, as well as furniture from the OAS Group construction company.
Also, a recent poll conducted by the Instituto Quaest revealed that 54.7 percent of 300,000 Brazilian internet users reveals believe that the TRF-4 ruling against Lula was made in error. The survey was conducted from Jan. 24-25.
Top Photo | A wall displaying posters with line drawings that depict Brazil’s former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and a message that reads in Portuguese, “Lula is innocent”, in Brasilia, Brazil, Jan. 29, 2018. (AP/Eraldo Peres)
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