A decree signed by Lula last Thursday (6th) removed Correios and other state-owned companies from privatization programs.| Photo: Marcelo Andrade/Archive/Gazeta do Povo

A Datafolha survey published this Sunday (9) by the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo showed that the Brazilian population’s support for the privatization of public services has grown in recent months.

According to the survey, 38% of Brazilians support privatizations, against 45% who say they are against.

Despite still being smaller in relation to the opponents, support for privatization has been growing since 2017, when only 20% of Brazilians were in favor of the issue.

The number of responses in favor of privatizations jumped since September last year, when only 26% supported the transfer of companies and public services to the private sector.

Datafolha also questioned how Brazilians evaluate the quality of products and services delivered by the private sector compared to state-owned companies. The majority, 54%, consider the private ones better, while 25% consider them worse.

Last Thursday (6), a decree signed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) made official the exclusion of some state-owned companies from the National Privatization Program. Among them, the Post Office and the EBC (Empresa Brasil de Comunicação).