July 10, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva remains popular in the country, according to a poll by Ibope. 50 per cent of respondents consider Lula has done a good or very good job leading the government, up one point since April.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva remains popular in the country, according to a poll by Ibope. 50 per cent of respondents consider Lula has done a good or very good job leading the government, up one point since April.

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.

In 2006, the president'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.

On Jul. 9, Lula defended Brazil's thriving sugar cane-based ethanol industry and rebuffed claims that its production could hurt the Amazon rainforest, saying, "The Portuguese discovered a long time ago that the Amazon isn't a place to plant cane. (...) The cartel of the world's powerful is trying to prevent Brazil from developing, trying to prevent Brazil from being transformed into a great nation."

Polling Data

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

	Jul. 2007	Apr. 2007	Dec. 2006
Good / Very Good	50%	49%	57%
Fair	33%	33%	28%
Bad / Very Bad	16%	16%	13%

Source: Ibope
Methodology: Interviews with 2,002 Brazilian adults, conducted from Jun. 28 to Jul. 1, 2007. Margin of error is 2.2 per cent.