Brazil's former President ahead in presidential poll

SAO PAULO – A new poll shows former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva enjoying a strong lead ahead of the Oct.7 presidential elections despite his recent conviction on corruption charges.

The Datafolha poll published Wednesday is the first since an appeals court last week upheld a corruption conviction against da Silva — a decision likely to knock him out of contention.

The survey finds that if da Silva is allowed to run, would get between 34 and 37 percent of votes in the first round. That's a comfortable lead over second-place right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro, with 16 to 18 percent of the vote.

In a second round, da Silva would defeat Bolsonaro by 49 to 32 percent. The poll has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.