RIO DE JANEIRO, 10 Muharram, 1432/16 Dec. 2010, SPA -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is more popular than ever as he prepares to step down, Reuters cited a poll as showing on Thursday. Lula's government had the approval of 80 percent of respondents in a December survey by polling firm Ibope, beating the previous high of 77 percent marked in September. Lula's personal approval rating -- which has long been the envy of other world leaders -- touched a dizzying new high of 87 percent. The country's first working class president, Lula has presided over eight years of sustained prosperity that has transformed Brazil from an economic also-ran into an emerging market giant. The nationwide Ibope poll, commissioned by Brazil's National Confederation of Industries, covered 2,002 people between Dec. 4 and Dec. 9. --SPA 22:36 LOCAL TIME 19:36 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/846349