Brazil's Lula would beat Alckmin in election: poll
Lula would defeat Alckmin 40 percent to 20 percent in the first round of voting, and win a second-round runoff 52 percent to 37 percent, according to a survey conducted by Datafolha and published in Folha de Sao Paulo's Sunday edition.
Candidates must win a clear majority to avoid a runoff vote.
The Brazilian Democratic Movement Party might field former Rio de Janeiro Gov. Anthony Garotinho for the presidential race.
Fifteen percent of voters surveyed said they would back Garotinho in the first round, while 32 percent would support him in a runoff against Lula, the poll showed.
If the election were a two-man race, Lula would beat Alckmin in the first round 52 percent to 28 percent, according to the poll.
In a March Datafolha poll, survey respondents said they would choose Lula over Alckmin 50 percent to 38 percent in the second round.
Lula has yet to officially declare his candidacy, but is widely expected to do so.
Lula's market-friendly Finance Minister Antonio Palocci was forced to resign over corruption allegations nearly two weeks ago.
Some political analysts had expected the scandal to dent Lula's opinion poll ratings. Palocci was replaced by Guido Mantega, former planning minister and long-time economic advisor to Lula.
Alckmin, 53, was chosen as presidential candidate on March 14 by the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, or PSDB. He is well-respected by Brazil's business and financial elite.
The Lula administration's market-friendly economic policies have also pleased investors, although Palocci's departure temporarily made financial markets nervous.
Since June, Lula has repeatedly been dogged by a scandal in which the ruling Workers' Party used illicit funds to finance election campaigns and allegedly bribe legislators.
The poll canvassed 3,795 people on Thursday and Friday. It had a margin of error of two percentage points.