Brazilians want presidential candidate untainted by corruption, survey shows

Most Brazilians hope that the future president of Brazil is honest and not involved in any corruption cases. These were the top priorities named by respondents in a survey entitled Retratos da sociedade brasileira: perspectivas para as eleições de 2018 (“Portraits of Brazilian Society: Outlooks for the 2018 Elections,” in a literal English translation), conducted by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), released Tuesday (Mar. 13), in partnership with Ibope.

In the opinion of 87% of Brazilians, it is very important for a presidential hopeful to be honest and not lie during their campaign. For 84%, it is crucial for candidates never to have been involved in corruption. The study also found that 66% would vote for someone they find honest, even if they do not agree with the aspirant’s policies.

For 44% of the people heard, the main focus of the new president should be bringing about social change, with improvements in health care, education, security, and social inequality; 32%, in turn, cited moral correctness in political administration, including anti-corruption efforts and penalties for crooked politicians; 21% said stabilizing the economy should be prioritized, with a definitive reduction in living costs and unemployment. One percent of interviewees mentioned none of these measures, or talk about yet another focus; 2% did not know or did not answer.

Eighty-nine percent of those interviewed argued that a presidential hopeful should be familiar with the problems facing the country; for 77%, a candidate should be experienced in economic affairs; and 74% said they should have a solid education.

Disbelief

The majority of Brazilians do not believe in promises made during campaign: 75% totally or partly disagree with the sentence “I believe in the promises made during candidates’ campaign.”

Forty-four percent of Brazilians are reported to feel pessimistic about the general elections this year, 20% are said to be optimistic, and another 23% are neither. Thirteen percent do not know or did not answer.

Those who described themselves as pessimistic mentioned corruption (30%) as the main reason, followed by the lack of trust in government leaders and candidates (19%), and the lack of preference for any one of the politicians announced to run for president.

Of the optimistic, 32% expect change; 19% place their hope on the vote and the participation of the people; and 11% share a sentiment of improvement overall.

God and family

Nearly eight of every ten Brazilians (79%) totally or partly agree that it is important for a presidential aspirant to believe in God. For 29% of respondents, it is crucial for the candidate to have the same faith as they do.

Over half (52%) of Brazilians would favor candidates from a poor family. Eight percent said it does not matter, and 38% does not quite, or not at all, have this preference. In the view of 62%, the candidate should have a well-structured family. This characteristic ranks eighth among the 11 on the survey’s list.

Previous experience

Of all the people heard, 47% totally agree that the country’s future president should have previous experience as either mayor or governor; 25% partly agree; 13% totally disagree; 11% partly disagree; 1% believe it does not play a significant role; and 2% do not know or did not answer.

A portion of the respondents (49%) said they do not favor any particular political party. Among those with a specific preference of predilection, 19% mentioned the Workers’ Party (PT). Next come the MDB (7%) and the PSDB (6%); PSOL, DEM, PCdoB, PDT, PR, PPS, PSB, PSC, PSD, PTB, PV and Novo have all 1% each.

The survey heard 2 thousand people across 127 municipalities from December 7 through 10, 2017. The margin of error stands at plus or minus two percentage points.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira