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Brazil's jailed ex-leader appears in 1st campaign ad

FILE - In this Match 28, 2018 file photo, Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stands amid supporters during the final rally of his week-long campaign tour of southern Brazil, in Curitiba, Parana state, Brazil. Da Silva leads preference polls for October's presidential election despite serving a 12-year-sentence for corruption. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
Original Publication Date August 22, 2018 - 7:11 AM

SAO PAULO - Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is in jail, but he features in his party's first ad ahead of October's presidential election and a new poll released Wednesday indicates he's still leading the race — even if electoral courts are likely to bar him from running within weeks.

Da Silva focuses on the economy in the video released on the internet. The once hugely popular former president, who governed from 2003 to 2010, doesn't mention the corruption conviction that put him in jail in April, which he is appealing and describes as political persecution.

"I want to thank all of the Brazilian people who will keep taking to the streets to defend their pensions, education, pay raises and, overall, to defend their jobs and to get new jobs," da Silva says in the message, which was taped before his arrest.

He accuses unpopular President Michel Temer, who took over after his da Silva's ally Dilma Rousseff was impeached in 2016, of cutting help for the poorest Brazilians.

Vice presidential candidate Fernando Haddad also appears in the video, which celebrates da Silva's registration as a formal candidate last week. The former Sao Paulo mayor is expected to take over the presidential candidacy if da Silva is barred.

A new poll by Datafolha Institute released Wednesday shows da Silva still holds a double-digit advantage over his closest rivals.

Thirty-nine per cent of those polled said they favoured da Silva, while rightist congressman Jair Bolsonaro was backed by 19 per cent.

But when da Silva was omitted, Bolsonaro topped the list with 22 per cent, while Haddad trailed far behind several other candidates with 4 per cent.

Former cabinet ministers Marina Silva and Ciro Gomes and former Sao Paulo Gov. Geraldo Alckmin registered in single digits with da Silva in the race. With him dropped, Marina Silva ran second to Bolsonaro with 16 per cent.

Datafolha interviewed 8,433 potential voters in 313 cities on Aug. 20 and 21. The poll's margin of error is 2 percentage points.

News from © The Associated Press, 2018
The Associated Press

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