Lula voted Brazil's best ever president: survey

SAO PAULO, Brazil

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, elected to a second four-year term in October, was voted the country's best-ever president, a survey released on Sunday showed.

The survey by Datafolha polling firm showed Lula leading by a wide margin former Brazilian presidents including Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Juscelino Kubitscheck and Getulio Vargas, despite corruption allegations against his administration.

When asked to name Brazil's best president, 35 percent of people in the survey responded Lula, with Cardoso coming a distant second with 12 percent, Kubitscheck with 11 percent and Vargas with 8 percent.

Respondents said Lula's best accomplishments have been in fighting hunger, creating social assistance programs, education and the economy, while his weak points included health issues, creating jobs, public safety and fighting corruption.

The survey polled 2,178 people on Wednesday and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.