The president’s voters () trust institutions more, in general, than the former president’s supporters (), research shows. The only sectors that have greater credibility among Bolsonarists are large Brazilian companies.
Among those who voted for the PT member in the last presidential elections, 87% say they trust the Presidency of the Republic a little or a lot; 82%, no; 81%, in the press and in the Judiciary; and 79%, in the Federal Supreme Court ().
On the other hand, those who opted for Bolsonaro in 2022 rank private companies (81%) and the military (77%) at the top. Soon after, the Public Ministry (65%), the press (60%) and the Judiciary (59%) also appear, but at levels much lower than those of Lulistas.
The STF is what generates the greatest skepticism in this group: only 36% say they trust the Court and 37% the Presidency. The minister and President Lula are often the main targets of Bolsonaro criticism and protests in the streets.
Both would be in the crosshairs of a coup plot revealed in November, which — including 28 military personnel —, under suspicion of forming a criminal organization to try to keep Bolsonaro in power in 2023, after his defeat at the polls.
Although companies and the Armed Forces accumulate more credibility among Bolsonarists, the majority of Lulistas also claim to trust these two sectors (78% in the first and 72% in the second). Considering the poll’s margins of error, the levels are similar for both groups of voters.
It already appears lower in the evaluations, with 65% confidence among PT voters and 51% among those for the former president. Political parties, in turn, are among the institutions most discredited by both sides (58% and 41% say they trust them, respectively).
Datafolha went into the field last Thursday (12) and Friday (13) and interviewed 2,002 people in 113 municipalities across the country. The total margin of error is two percentage points, but it rises to three points in the group that voted for Lula and to four in the group that voted for Bolsonaro.
The survey showed that, on average, the level of trust in the military is once again at its worst numerical level in the historical series that began in 2017. The institution, however, continues to be the most trustworthy in the eyes of Brazilians: 74% say they trust a lot or a little in it.
The institute also asked Brazilians what the country’s main problem is, considering the areas of responsibility of the federal government. Health stood out among both Lula’s voters (24% cited it spontaneously) and Bolsonaro’s (19%), as is common in this type of research.
A is also at the top of the concerns of both groups (13% and 12%, respectively). Then, however, the current president’s supporters show greater concern about hunger or poverty, while the former president’s voters give more emphasis to the economy and corruption.
Datafolha also indicates that a third of those who voted for Lula think that, so far, the president has done less for the country than expected (a number that reaches 81% among Bolsonaro voters). Another 37% of his supporters think he did what was expected and 28% that he exceeded expectations.
Lulistas and Bolsonaro supporters naturally have opposing assessments of the work of the current government. Among the former, 66% consider that President Lula is completing his second year in office with good or excellent management, 27% consider it fair and 7%, bad or terrible.
In the second group, the perception is reversed: 68% consider the government to be bad or terrible, 23%, fair, and only 8%, good or excellent. The trends are similar when respondents are asked about how the federal administration will perform from now on.
