Jair Bolsonaro
Photographer: Evaristo SA / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Evaristo SA / AFP / Getty Images
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s approval rating cratered amid rising coronavirus death tolls and confusion over a national vaccination plan.
The mercury leader, who scoffed at masks and reiterated baseless theories about the virus voiced by former US President Donald Trump, saw his personal support fall to 26% Friday, from 37% in a previous poll published Jan. 14. according to a study that was conducted. by IDEIA and published in the Brazilian business magazine Exame. His rejection rate rose to 45% over the same period.
A Second poll released by DataFolha on Friday found Bolsonaro’s approval score of 31% from 37% in December, while his disapproval score rose from 32% to 40% over the same period.
Criticism at home and abroad is mounting over his government’s erratic handling of the pandemic as health care systems in the Amazon city Manaus collapses and the nation’s economic recovery loses steam. Friday, Bolsonaro said there is no scientific evidence for vaccines. That same day, two prominent indigenous leaders tried to sue the president for his policies in the Amazon rainforest.
Read more: The vaccination urge in Brazil is finally starting, but the risks are plentiful
Such a level of discontent has not been seen since the middle of last year, when the pandemic overwhelmed hospitals and forced incarceration across the country.
IDEIA surveyed 1,200 Brazilians across the country between January 18 and 21, with a margin of error of about 3%. DataFolha interviewed 2,030 people across Brazil on January 19-20, with a margin of error of about 2%.
The results mirror findings from pollster XP / Ipespe, which registered a six percentage point drop in Bolsonaro’s popularity to 32% this month as money transfers expired.
As another sign of unpopularity, the two indigenous leaders asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Bolsonaro and charge him with unprecedented environmental damage, murders and persecution.
William Bourdon, a lawyer from Paris, filed a request for a preliminary investigation at the tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, the British newspaper The Guardian reported.
– With the help of Martha Viotti Beck
(Updates with DataFolha poll from third paragraph and Bolsonaro ICC charge in last paragraph.)