President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s popularity is waning three months into his term as the leftist leader struggles to navigate a deeply divided Brazil.
(Bloomberg) — President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s popularity is waning three months into his term as the leftist leader struggles to navigate a deeply divided Brazil.
The share of Brazilians who hold a positive view of Lula’s government fell to 36% in April, a four-point decline from February, according to a Quaest poll released Wednesday. The share that saw it negatively rose to 29% from 20% before.
Lula took office for his third stint as president on Jan. 1 after winning one of the closest elections in Brazil’s modern history. The 77-year-old former trade unionist campaigned on lifting living standards and unifying the nation, a stark contrast with his conservative predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, whose presidency was marked by culture wars and widening polarization.
Read more: Lula Struggles to Build Base in Congress 100 Days Into His Term
But Wednesday’s survey indicated that Lula is quickly losing ground with Bolsonaro backers. Negative views of the current government shot up to 64% from 51% previously among those who voted for Bolsonaro in last year’s presidential runoff. More than a quarter of Brazilians who didn’t vote for either candidate last year also regard Lula’s government negatively, a sharp increase from February.
The poll shows that while Lula has maintained the support of his base, he is alienating many others, said Felipe Nunes, the director of Quaest.
“His narrative is focused on his own voters, his choices are all about his voters,” Nunes said. “There is nothing about the middle class.”
Read more: Haunted by Insurrection, Lula Is In a Hurry to Change Brazil
Quaest interviewed 2,015 Brazilians between April 13 and 16, and has a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.
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