Brazil's Lula Keeps Wide Lead over Incumbent Bolsonaro

Brazil's former president and presidential frontrunner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves during an annual meeting of the Brazilian scientific community at the University of Brasilia, in Brasilia, Brazil, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano Machado
Brazil's former president and presidential frontrunner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves during an annual meeting of the Brazilian scientific community at the University of Brasilia, in Brasilia, Brazil, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano Machado
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Brazil's Lula Keeps Wide Lead over Incumbent Bolsonaro

Brazil's former president and presidential frontrunner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves during an annual meeting of the Brazilian scientific community at the University of Brasilia, in Brasilia, Brazil, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano Machado
Brazil's former president and presidential frontrunner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva waves during an annual meeting of the Brazilian scientific community at the University of Brasilia, in Brasilia, Brazil, July 28, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

Former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva maintains a wide lead over incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro ahead of the presidential election in October, according to a poll published Thursday.

Forty-seven percent of those polled by Datafolha said they intend to support Lula, 76, in the first round, the same result as the poll conducted last month by the consulting firm, AFP said.

Support for Bolsonaro, 67, only ticked up by one percentage point, to 29 percent, despite a large social spending package approved two weeks ago by the National Congress.

But the results showed Bolsonaro had gained three percentage points among the poorest voters, and six among women.

Center-left candidate Ciro Gomes came in third at a meager eight percent among those polled, and center-right candidate Simone Tebet had only two percent support.

Political analyst Adriano Laureno said that the social measures announced by the government could help "reduce the gap" between Lula and Bolsonaro, but not sufficiently to turn the tides in the far-right president's favor.

But Laureno warned this might prompt Bolsonaro to "intensify" his efforts to cast doubt on the country's electronic voting system, which he has claimed without evidence makes cheating easier.

The poll consisted of interviews with 2,556 people between June 27 and 28.



US Moving Fighter Jets to Middle East as Israel-Iran War Rages

This handout grab taken from footage released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on June 11, 2025 shows the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) conducting flight operations in the South China Sea, on May 28, 2025. (AFP Photo / DVIDS / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Jacome - Handout)
This handout grab taken from footage released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on June 11, 2025 shows the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) conducting flight operations in the South China Sea, on May 28, 2025. (AFP Photo / DVIDS / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Jacome - Handout)
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US Moving Fighter Jets to Middle East as Israel-Iran War Rages

This handout grab taken from footage released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on June 11, 2025 shows the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) conducting flight operations in the South China Sea, on May 28, 2025. (AFP Photo / DVIDS / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Jacome - Handout)
This handout grab taken from footage released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on June 11, 2025 shows the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) conducting flight operations in the South China Sea, on May 28, 2025. (AFP Photo / DVIDS / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Jacome - Handout)

The US military is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, bolstering US military forces in the region as the war between Israel and Iran rages, three US officials said.

One of the officials said the deployments include F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter aircraft.

Two of the officials stressed the defensive nature of the deployment of fighter aircraft, which have been used to shoot down drones and projectiles.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters was first to report on Monday the movement of a large number of tanker aircraft to Europe as well as the deployment of an aircraft carrier to the Middle East, providing options to President Donald Trump as Middle East tensions soar.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the deployments as defensive in nature, as Washington looks to safeguard forces in the Middle East from potential blowback from Iran and Iran-aligned forces in the region.

A fourth US defense official on Tuesday raised the possibility of the deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean of additional US Navy warships capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.

The United States already has a sizeable force in the Middle East, with nearly 40,000 troops in the region, including air defense systems, fighter aircraft and warships that can detect and shoot down enemy missiles.

Israel launched its air war, its largest ever on Iran, on Friday after saying it concluded Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.