The Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration has a 36 percent approval rating, the latest reading by pollster Quaest found. Back in February, the government’s popularity stood at 40 percent. Those who deem the government is doing a poor job jumped from 20 to 29 percent of the electorate.
The new poll confirms similar findings by Ipec and Datafolha polls, published earlier this month.
Quaest CEO Felipe Nunes believes Lula’s support base is “calcified” and will not easily abandon the president. The calcification of politics is an issue most Brazilians are concerned about. The 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer shows that 78 percent of Brazilians believe the country is more divided now than it was in the past.
“Without the anxiety of the 100 days, it is expected that Lula will enter into fewer fights and that the government will be able to better publicize its economic plan,” Mr. Nunes said on Twitter.
In recent days, the government has been embroiled in a controversy around the taxation of cross-border e-commerce. In a drive to enhance revenue, the Finance Ministry planned to tax purchases from Asian marketplaces — which would have hit the millions who buy or resell such goods. After a negative reaction from voters, the government backpedaled. (We explained the quagmire in today’s Brazil Daily newsletter, for premium subscribers.)
Lula has also faced pushback in the local press due to his controversial statements on the war in Ukraine. The Brazilian president accused the U.S. and the European Union of prolonging the war — and said the conflict was a “decision made by two countries.” While his words drew criticism from Western allies (who saw them as pro-Russia), the pro-Jair Bolsonaro opposition has not attacked Lula on the issue, considering that Mr. Bolsonaro’s position on the conflict was not that different.
The government’s approval rating dipped within the margin of error among Lula voters, from 69 to 67 percent. However, among respondents who said they had voted for Jair Bolsonaro last year, the disapproval rating shot up from 51 to 64 percent.
Among all respondents, the approval rate of Lula’s behavior as president dropped from 65 to 53 percent. In the new survey, 55 percent said the president has not been able to keep his promises, while 35 said he has managed to keep them.
Quaest found that less than 60 percent of respondents had heard about important policies, such as the relaunch of the More Doctors program, revoking Bolsonaro-era decrees on guns, and raising scholarships for postgraduates.
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