Disapproval of Lula grows and points to a feeling of worsening of the economy

Disapproval of the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) grew in the country according to the Quaest survey released this Wednesday morning (6), mainly in the South and Southeast regions of the country. The numbers from this new round point to a spike in rejection of the PT member, especially among evangelicals, due to the increase in fuel, bills and food prices, and after the controversial speech in which he compared Israel’s reaction against Hamas to the Nazi Holocaust.

According to Quaest, disapproval of Lula has grown by 5 percentage points since the last survey in December 2023, going from 29% to 34% in the general survey. Approval fell from 36% to 35%.

Quaest interviewed two thousand people in person between the 25th and 27th of February, and the margin of error is plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.

The South and Southeast regions are the ones that most disapprove of the PT’s management, with 51% and 52% respectively. In the Central-West and North, approval decreased from 51% to 50%, while disapproval has remained at 47% since December.

In the Northeast, Lula’s electoral stronghold, approval of the PT government has also been falling, from 70% to 68% compared to December, while disapproval rose from 28% to 31%.

Disapproval specifically of Lula’s work also grew in the country according to the survey, rising from 43% in December to 46%. The South and Southeast regions have the worst evaluations, with 51% and 52% disapproval.

Approval fell from 54% to 51%, with a reduction in the Northeast (70% to 68%) and the Central-West and North (51% to 50%).

In a broader scenario considering the entire period of Lula’s third government, the negative evaluation reached the highest level. In the first round, in February 2023, 20% of those interviewed disapproved of the PT member.

Since then, the negative evaluation has fluctuated and reached 29% in December 2023, reaching 34% in February 2024. Approval is at 35%, therefore, within the margin of error.

Disapproval soared among evangelicals

The biggest increase in Lula’s disapproval occurred mainly among evangelicals, a religious group that accounts for around a third of the population, with a jump from 36% to 48%.

The talk about Israel that led to a diplomatic crisis between the two countries was considered exaggerated by 60% of those interviewed, while 28% did not see it as exaggerated.

Quaest also asked how voters of Lula and former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) evaluate the PT member’s work, and revealed that approval has been falling and disapproval has been rising.

Among those who voted for Lula in the 2022 second round, approval fell from 90% to 85%. Among those who voted for Bolsonaro, disapproval rose from 83% to 88%.

Economy worries Brazilians

The worsening approval of the Lula government was also due to the perception of a worsening of the Brazilian economy for 38% of those interviewed, compared to 31% found in December 2023. The feeling of improvement in the last 12 months fell from 34% to 26%.

According to Quaest, 73% of Brazilians felt an increase in food prices, 63% in general bills and 51% in fuel prices.

For the next 12 months, the Brazilian economy is expected to worsen for 31% of those interviewed, while improvement is cited by 46% (it was 55% in December 2023).