Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 81, who is running for a historic fourth term, and opposition frontrunner Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, are locked in a tight race in the latest presidential opinion poll.

According to a presidential support poll jointly released on the 3rd (local time) by investment bank BTG Pactual and pollster Nexus, President Lula of the ruling Workers' Party (PT) recorded 45% support in a hypothetical runoff matchup, placing him in a tight race within the margin of error against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party (PL), who garnered 46%.

This marks a narrowing of the gap compared to a survey by the same institutions released on July 27, where President Lula led Senator Bolsonaro by 4 percentage points at 47% to 43%.

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who served from 2019 to 2022.

In a hypothetical first-round matchup held prior to a potential runoff, President Lula registered 41% and Senator Bolsonaro 37%, narrowing the gap between the two candidates from 9 percentage points the previous week to 4 percentage points.

Under Brazil's electoral laws, if no candidate secures a majority (over 50%) of the vote in the first round, the top two candidates advance to a runoff.

The first-round vote is scheduled for October 4, with the runoff set for the 25th of the same month.

In an accompanying job approval rating survey, negative assessments of the Lula administration stood at 43%, outpacing positive assessments at 37%.

(Photo: Getty Images)