The president (PT) is considered the main leader of the left by 56% of Brazilians, while the former president () is seen as the biggest name on the Brazilian right by 35%, shows research.
The institute interviewed 2,002 people, aged 16 or over, in 113 municipalities, from Tuesday (2) to Thursday (4). The margin of error for the general survey data is 2 percentage points, plus or minus.
The institute asked interviewees who they considered, first, to be the greatest leadership on the right in the country and, secondly, the greatest on the left. The results show greater fragmentation on the right and greater cohesion around Lula on the left — which also means that there are fewer succession alternatives for the PT member.
The data also shows a high rate of lack of knowledge, with 36% of those interviewed saying they did not know how to identify the main leadership on the right, and 30%, that on the left.
Among voters who identified themselves as PT members, the proportion of those who say they do not know who the biggest name on the right is rises to 46%, and 16% even say that Lula is the main leader of this political field.
Considering the total sample of interviewees, the president appears in second place among names identified with the right, with 9%, surpassing governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicanos-SP), with 5%, and Michelle Bolsonaro (PL), with 2%.
The senator (PL-RJ), who on Friday (5) claimed to have his father’s blessing, appears with just 1%. The number leaves him behind Lula along with his stepmother, his younger brother (PL-SP) and Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG). The research was completed before the announcement of Flávio’s pre-candidacy.
Governors Romeu Zema (Novo-MG) and Ratinho Jr. (PSD-PR) did not score in the survey. Ronaldo Caiado (União Brasil), governor of Goiás, appeared with 1%.
On the left, there is less division between the names. Behind Lula was, interestingly, Jair Bolsonaro — appointed as the main leader of the left by 5% of those interviewed. Next comes the minister of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) Alexandre de Moraes, with 2%, and the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, with 1%.
Only 2% of voters stated that there is no leader on the left, and 4% gave other answers. On the right, 3% say there is no main name, and 3% named other politicians.
The numbers point to a greater division on the right. Among voters who identify themselves as Bolsonarists, 52% named the former president as the main name in their political field, but 60% named Lula as a leader on the left.
Among PT members, only 20% see Bolsonaro at the head of the opposition camp, while 51% identify the current president as the main leftist name.
The rates reflect Lula’s current willingness to run in 2026 and the uncertainty in the center and on the right about who will be the electoral heir of Bolsonarism. Allies and opponents have seen Flávio Bolsonaro’s candidacy and are still betting that Tarcísio could run as a representative of this political field.
Others saw the note as a way to strengthen their son in relation to Michelle, with whom he had recently had friction.
The cohesion around Lula could mean a problem for the left in the future, as the data does not show the growth of an alternative, younger leadership — like Haddad or Boulos.
