Elections in Brazil: Lula maintains a comfortable lead in the Brazilian presidential race, according to a poll

Brazil’s leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva still holds a solid lead in this year’s presidential race over right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, according to a new poll released Monday.

The poll conducted by MDA Pesquisa and sponsored by the National Transportation Confederation (CNT) showed 42% support for Lula and 28% for Bolsonaro, if the October elections were held today.

The results showed a marginal improvement for Bolsonaro compared to the last MDA poll in December, when he got 26% compared to 43% for Lula. Other polls this month have also shown a slightly closer race.

Although they have not formally declared their candidacies, the rivals have made their intentions to run clear. Financial markets have been reacting to signals from Lula about economic proposals if his Workers’ Party returns to power.

The election is shaping up to be a highly polarized race between the current and former presidents, with little room to date for a third contender.

Former Ceará Governor Ciro Gomes and former Justice Minister Sergio Moro got just 7% in the MDA poll, the latter dropping from nearly 9% in December. Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria remained at 2%.

The survey of 2,002 potential voters was conducted from February 16 to 19 through in-person interviews, with a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.