Opinion poll finds 10% approve of Temer gov't, 55% showed disapproval

A new survey on people's opinion about the government of Brazil's President Michel Temer was published. In the poll, released Friday (Mar. 31) by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), 10% of respondents regard the government as great or good, 31% as OK, and 55% as bad or terrible. Four percent did not know or did not answer. The survey was conducted by the Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics (IBOPE).

In December 2016, 13% of the interviewed described Temer's administration as great or good, 35% as OK, 45% as bad or terrible, and 6% did not know or did not answer.

Regarding the president's governing style, 73% expressed disapproval, 20% approved of it, and 7% did not now or did not answer. In the study carried out late last year, 64% disapproved of it, against 26% who showed approval; 10% did now know or did not answer.

The decline in the government's popularity rate can be ascribed to the major fiscal adjustment and the reforms brought forward by the federal government.

“We must not fail to take the economic issue into consideration. There's a very strong connection between the government's popularity and the country's economic situation. For all the signs of a decreasing inflation, the population needs to see this at the supermarket. Unemployment is still on the rise and this elevated unemployment rate brings about a strong sense of dissatisfaction among the population, and this is very strongly reflected in the way the government is viewed,” said Renato Fonseca, executive manager at CNI's Unit for Research and Competitiveness.

On people's confidence in President Michel Temer, 79% of respondents said they do not trust him, 17% said they do, and 3% did now know or did not answer. In December, 72% said they did not trust the president, against 23 who did; 5% did not know or did not answer.

The survey heard two thousand people across 126 municipalities from March 16 to 19.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira