Brazil's Lula commands big lead in election race

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Oct 13 (Reuters) Two polls showed Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva coasting to re-election on October. 29, despite corruption scandals and a bruising television debate with his main rival.

A survey by polling firm Ibope yesterday showed Lula with a 14-point advantage over former Sao Paulo Gov. Geraldo Alckmin, while a Vox Populi survey gave Lula a 10-point lead before the runoff.

The polls confirmed a Datafolha survey on Wednesday that gave Lula a 12-point lead with 56 percent of valid votes, against Alckmin's 44 percent.

Lula narrowly failed to clinch an outright victory in the first round of voting on October. 1, capturing 48.6 percent of votes to Alckmin's 41.6 percent.

The Ibope poll surveyed 3,010 people on Tuesday and Wednesday and had a margin of error of 2 points. The Vox Populi poll, completed on Monday, surveyed 2,000 voters and had a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.

Lula, who has huge support from Brazil's poor, appeared to be unscathed by a scandal that forced the head of his Workers' Party, Ricardo Berzoini, to quit last Friday.

Berzoini, who was also fired as campaign chief just before the first-round vote, was forced to give up the party leadership after aides were caught trying to buy a dossier to smear the opposition.

It was the latest in a series of scandals that resulted in the removal of some of Lula's closest aides over two years.

Alckmin, a normally bland centrist favored by Brazil's business elite, repeatedly questioned Lula in Sunday's debate over corruption.

Analysts said Alckmin's abrasive approach may have backfired and the Vox Populi poll showed voters thought Lula performed slightly better in the TV debate.

Lula and Alckmin adopted a more diplomatic tone and focused on their respective programs when free campaign spots on radio and television resumed yesterday.

In an interview with the Rio de Janeiro-based O Globo newspaper, Lula on Thursday defended his government's economic performance and said the country was ready to leap forward.

''We are going to have a growth cycle of 5 percent or more in the next five years,'' O Globo quoted Lula as saying.

Brazil's Central Bank last month cut its 2006 growth forecast to 3.5 percent from 4 percent, and Brazil lags other emerging countries such as China, India and Russia.

REUTERS DH PM0723