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Numbers of the week: Jan. 23, 2021
Ariádne Mussato . Jan 23, 2021
This is Brazil by the Numbers, a weekly digest of the most interesting figures tucked inside the latest news about Brazil. A selection of numbers that help explain what is going on in Brazil. This week: Jair Bolsonaro’s approval ratings, AstraZeneca vaccine in Brazil, and student dropout during the pandemic.
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26-percent approval
Pollster Ideia Big Data has conducted weekly surveys on President Jair Bolsonaro’s approval ratings, and their latest findings should make the government worry.
They show a substantial skid in the president’s approval ratings, falling from 37 to 26 percent in a single week. </p>
<p>Other recent polls have presented different results. Per Datafolha, Brazil’s most-renowned pollster, the president’s approval rating <a href="https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/poder/2021/01/crise-derruba-popularidade-de-bolsonaro-aponta-datafolha.shtml?utm_source=whatsapp&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=compwa">dropped from 37 to 31 percent</a>. According to PoderData, for instance, the president’s approval has not budged — remaining at <a href="https://www.poder360.com.br/poderdata/mesmo-sem-vacinas-bolsonaro-mantem-taxas-de-aprovacao-e-desaprovacao/">around 45 percent</a>. And one survey by brokerage firm XP shows some deterioration in support for the president — but <a href="https://valor.globo.com/politica/noticia/2021/01/18/governo-bolsonaro-tem-reprovacao-de-40percent-e-aprovacao-de-32percent-diz-pesquisa-xpipespe.ghtml">not as dramatic</a> as Ideia Big Data’s. </p>
<ul><li><strong>What to make of it:</strong> It will take more polls for a definitive take on whether Mr. Bolsonaro’s support base is shrinking, but the general impression is that the end of the government’s coronavirus emergency salary program is <a href="https://brazilian.report/newsletters/brazil-daily/2021/01/08/aid-program-ends-bolsonaro-approval-popularity-dwindles/">starting to take its toll on the president’s popularity</a>.</li></ul>
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<h2>63 arrested for watching football</h2>
<p>Amid a second coronavirus wave, the city of <a href="https://brazilian.report/society/2021/01/19/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-manaus-coronavirus-variant/">Manaus</a> is facing a full-scale collapse of its healthcare system, with dozens of patients dying of asphyxiation due to shortages of oxygen supplies. Even with the chaos, local police found 63 people <a href="https://brazilian.report/coronavirus-brazil-live-blog/2021/01/14/governor-imposes-curfew-in-manaus-to-curb-covid-19/">breaking curfew</a> to watch a football match together.</p>
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<h2>6.8 million more vaccine shots</h2>
<p>The government announced it has finally <a href="https://brazilian.report/society/2021/01/19/brazil-facing-vaccine-delays-despite-history-of-immunization-success/">cleared</a> a shipment of 2 million ready-for-use shots of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced in India, which should land in Brazil over the weekend. On the same day, health regulators <a href="https://brazilian.report/coronavirus-brazil-live-blog/2021/01/22/breaking-regulators-clear-additional-batch-of-coronavac-doses/">greenlit the emergency use</a> of 4.8 million doses of China’s CoronaVac, which had been packaged in São Paulo. Still, Brazil could be forced into a hiatus in inoculations of at least a month due to a lack of vaccine inputs for continued production. </p>
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<h2>BRL 397 million in BDRs</h2>
<p>Brazilian Depositary Receipts (BDRs) are certificates representing shares of foreign companies traded in Brazil. In the first week of the year, trades involving these papers reached a <a href="https://brazilian.report/coronavirus-brazil-live-blog/2020/10/19/brazilian-investors-to-surf-covid-19-vaccine-wave/">record-setting level</a> of BRL 397 million (USD 72.5 million). This is due to the change in the rule that facilitated the access of individuals to these assets. According to a survey carried out by XP Investimentos, in the last week of 2020, BDRs hit a trading record with BRL 684 million of liquidity.</p>
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<h2>8.4 percent of students dropped out of school</h2>
<p>The pandemic suspended in-person classes in Brazil and all over the world and <a href="https://brazilian.report/society/2020/04/23/covid-19-widens-the-education-gap-between-rich-and-poor-students/">deepened inequalities</a> between rich and poor students. Brazilian schoolchildren who were left unattended for months became more likely to drop out of school entirely, confirmed by recent data showing that <a href="https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/educacao/2021/01/cerca-de-4-milhoes-abandonaram-estudos-na-pandemia-diz-pesquisa.shtml">4 million</a> students are no longer seeking education. That accounts for 8.4 percent of all students aged between 6 and 34.
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