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Brazil’s Lula with High Approval Despite Drop
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The popularity of Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has fallen after a spike at the beginning of the year, according to a poll by Instituto Sensus. 76.2 per cent of respondents approve of the president’s performance, down 7.8 points since January.
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 Mar. 30, while in London for a meeting of the G-20 leaders, Lula discussed his views on the so-called Doha round of free trade talks—which he has keenly supported—saying, "I know that it won’t be easy to conclude the Doha cycle. In times of crisis, protectionism, which I see as a drug, rises."
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s performance as president?
|
|
Mar. 2009 |
Jan. 2009 |
Dec. 2008 |
|
Approve |
76.2% |
84.0% |
80.3% |
|
Disapprove |
19.9% |
12.2% |
15.2% |
Source: Instituto Sensus
Methodology: Interviews with 2,000 Brazilian adults, conducted from Mar. 23 to Mar. 27, 2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.