Jair Bolsonaro
Photographer: Evaristo SA / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Evaristo SA / AFP / Getty Images
President Jair Bolsonaro’s approval rating plummeted amid rising numbers of deaths from the coronavirus and confusion over a national vaccination plan.
The fickle leader, who scoffed at masks and echoed baseless theories about the virus voiced by former US President Donald Trump, saw his personal support drop to 26% on Friday, from 37% in a previous poll published on 14 March. January, according to a survey conducted by IDEIA and published in the Brazilian business magazine Exame. His disapproval rate rose to 45% during the same period.
AN A second survey released Friday by DataFolha pointed to Bolsonaro’s approval rating at 31% against 37% in December, while his failure rate rose from 32% to 40% in the same period.
Criticism at home and abroad is growing about his government’s erratic treatment of the pandemic as health systems in the Amazon city of The collapse of Manaus and the country’s economic recovery are losing momentum. On Friday, Bolsonaro said there is no scientific evidence about vaccines. On the same day, two prominent indigenous leaders sought to sue the president for his policies in the Amazon rainforest.
Read more: Brazil’s vaccination campaign finally begins, but the risks abound
These levels of discontent have not been seen since the middle of last year, when the pandemic overwhelmed hospitals and forced closings across the country.
IDEIA interviewed 1,200 Brazilians across the country between 18 and 21 January, with a margin of error of approximately 3%. DataFolha interviewed 2,030 people across Brazil on the 19th and 20th of January, with a margin of error of around 2%.
The results reflect the findings of the researcher XP / Ipespe, who recorded a drop of six percentage points in Bolsonaro’s popularity to 32% this month, with the end of money transfers.
As another sign of unpopularity, the two indigenous leaders asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Bolsonaro, accusing him of unprecedented environmental damage, murders and persecution.
William Bourdon, a Paris-based lawyer, submitted a request for a preliminary examination to the court in The Hague, the Netherlands, to the British newspaper The Guardian reported.
– With the help of Martha Viotti Beck
(Updates with DataFolha search in the third paragraph and Bolsonaro ICC collection in the final paragraph.)