Bolsonaro’s rejection rates drop, but Brazilians demand more emergency aid

The rejection rate of the Jair Bolsonaro administration fell by 5 percentage points in October — to 31 percent, the lowest level since May 2019 — according to a new XP/Ipespe poll. The share of the population that evaluates the administration as “good/great” remained at 39 percent. Still, this is the second-highest approval rating of the government since February 2019, one month into President Bolsonaro’s term. 

The improvement in the administration’s popularity levels came off the back of improved prospects in a series of indicators: 40 percent of voters perceive news concerning the government as “negative,” down from 63 percent in May. 

Also, less Brazilians believe corruption will increase over the coming months, dropping five percentage points to 40 percent. However, this came before Wednesday’s scandal involving Senator Chico Rodrigues, the government’s deputy whip in the Senate, who was found hiding money embezzled from Covid-19 efforts “between his buttocks”.

Another key reason behind the president’s lower rejection rates — the coronavirus emergency aid program — is broadly supported by the population. As of October, 42 percent of interviewees had received the stipend, while 45 percent considered it was a good decision to extend payments until the end of the year. More importantly, 68 percent of Brazilians believe that if the new cash transfer program Renda Cidadã is not approved, the government should extend the emergency aid into 2021.

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