(07/19/10) -

Lula Soars to New Approval High in Brazil

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Brazilians are growing fonder of their president as his second term winds down, according to a poll by Datafolha published in Folha de Sao Paulo. 78 per cent of respondents rate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s performance as very good or good, up three points since May.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Brazilians are growing fonder of their president as his second term winds down, according to a poll by Datafolha published in Folha de Sao Paulo. 78 per cent of respondents rate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s performance as very good or good, up three points since May.

Lula—a member of the Worker’s Party (PT)—won the October 2002 presidential election with 61 per cent of the vote in a run-off against Jose Serra of the Brazilian Party of Social Democracy (PSDB). In October 2006, he earned a new four-year term, defeating PSDB candidate Geraldo Alckmin with 60.8 per cent of the vote in the second round. Lula is ineligible for a third consecutive term in office.

In 2006, Lula’s party was affected by a series of corruption scandals. The socialist-leaning president—also a former union leader—led a strong economy with conservative fiscal policies during his first mandate, and was praised for his poverty-reduction initiatives.

On Jul. 14, Lula sent a bill to Congress which seeks to explicitly forbid parents or guardians from relying on corporal punishment and "cruel and degrading treatment" to discipline children. Lula explained the rationale for the law, saying, "If punishment and whipping solved things, we wouldn’t have so much corruption in this country. We wouldn’t have so many bandits in this country."

The first round of Brazil’s next presidential election is scheduled for Oct. 3. Lula is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term in office.

Polling Data

How would you rate the performance of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as president?