Why are Brazilian lawmakers seen in such a negative light?

An increasing share of Brazilian citizens has a negative opinion of Congress. A poll by PoderData from December 2020 indicates that 38 percent of those interviewed described legislators’ work as “bad” or “terrible,” as opposed to 31 percent in August of the same year. Only 13 percent of citizens deemed Congress’ performance as “good” or “excellent,” three percentage points less than in August.

Indeed, that the approval of Congress would decrease while the Legislative branch — and not the Executive — is leading the country through a deadly pandemic seems counterintuitive.

But what explains this mismatch between public opinion and actual performance?

Congress has been the main driver behind pandemic-related laws. As shown by The Brazilian Report, nearly half of the 133 bills passed by the Legislative branch in 2020 were linked to the impacts of Covid-19. Legislators proposed 96 percent of the 2,377 pandemic-related bills, and Legislative- and Executive-sponsored bills had similar approval rates — 52...