Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro announced on Thursday that author-psychiatrist Augusto Cury, who finished third in the first round, has endorsed him for the October 25 runoff against President Lula da Silva, while a new Datafolha poll shows the race in a technical tie.
Brazil’s presidential race entered a decisive phase on Thursday as right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro announced that Augusto Cury, the third-place finisher in Sunday’s first round, has endorsed him for the October 25 runoff against leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro shared a video on social media of Cury announcing his endorsement, following local media reports of his support, according to the reports. The endorsement gives Bolsonaro, who led the first round, backing from a candidate who drew support from voters positioned outside both traditional camps.
Cury, an author and psychiatrist from the Avante party, received 2.89 percent of the valid votes, excluding blank and null ballots, in the first round. Throughout his campaign he avoided identifying with either the political left or right, instead campaigning under the slogan “Centered on what matters,” reports said.
Among the other top-five finishers, Ronaldo Caiado endorsed Bolsonaro earlier this week, while Renan Santos said he will not endorse either candidate, leaving a bloc of voters whose preferences could prove decisive in the runoff.
The announcement came on the same day as the first Datafolha poll since the first round, which showed Bolsonaro slightly ahead of Lula in a simulated runoff scenario. According to the poll, Bolsonaro would receive 49 percent of the vote compared with 45 percent for Lula. Pollsters described the result as a technical tie, given the survey’s margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points.
Five percent of respondents said they would cast a blank vote, while one percent were undecided, the poll found. Datafolha surveyed 2,520 people in person between October 6 and 7.
Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, exceeded expectations in the first-round vote with a slight lead over Lula, 47.03 percent to 45.16 percent, according to the reported results. Lula, 80, is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term as president, while Bolsonaro, 45, is positioning himself as the candidate of change.
The two candidates are competing to lead Latin America’s largest economy, home to around 214 million people. Both camps are expected to spend the remaining weeks of the campaign courting the voters of the eliminated candidates.
Analysts say the runoff campaign is likely to focus on affordability, social programs, public security and corruption, with both sides seeking to define the terms of a contest that polls indicate remains within the margin of error.
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