The Genial/Quaest poll released Friday (9) shows that former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT, left) has 43% of the electoral vote in Minas Gerais. Chief Executive Jair Bolsonaro (PL, right) has 36%.
The gap stands now at 7 points.
A month ago, Lula da Silva’s lead over Bolsonaro had already melted from 18 to 9 points in the previous poll.
Minas Gerais is traditionally one of the decisive states in Brazilian elections.
It ranks as the second most populous (21.3 million), the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country.
The Belo Horizonte metropolitan area is the third largest in Brazil, with just over 5.8 million inhabitants, after those of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
The saying goes: If you don’t win in Minas Gerais, you can’t win the whole country.
The other presidential candidates were classified as “other” in the poll. Together, they account for 12% of voting intentions.
White, invalid, and ineligible are 4%; undecided is 6%.