Research shows that 35% of Brazilians classify themselves as being at and 22%, at . As a result, 57% identify with positions closest to the poles of the political spectrum in the population as a whole.
In the survey, another 7% declared themselves as center-left, 17% as center, 11% as center-right and 8% could not say.
2,002 people, aged 16 or over, were interviewed in 113 municipalities in Brazil. The margin of error for the general survey data is 2 percentage points, plus or minus.
Regarding political position, interviewees were asked to position themselves on a scale of 1 to 7 — where 1 corresponded to the maximum position on the left and 7, the maximum position on the right.
This same research showed, on the other hand, , albeit with a small difference.
Faced with the question for respondents to position themselves on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 was a Bolsonarist and 5 were PT members, 34% were those who classified themselves as supporters of the former president (PL), while 40% classified themselves as PT members.
Another 18% positioned themselves in the neutral range, 6% said they did not support any of them and 1% did not know how to answer.
Since December 2022, Datafolha has been feeding the historical series of the positioning of PT and Bolsonaro supporters. Anyone who answers 1 or 2 is classified as a Bolsonarist, and anyone who answers 4 or 5 is included in the PT list. Those who mention 3 are treated as neutral. Lula’s supporters were the majority in 9 of the 11 surveys carried out so far.
Among those with less education, 41% say they are right-wing, while 26% say they are left-wing and 8% are center-wing. Among those who completed high school, 21% say they are from the center, almost the same percentage among those who have higher education, 20%.
Among younger people, aged 16 to 24, 30% are in the center, while 26% say they are right-wing and 16% are left-wing. As for those aged 60 or over, the scenario is quite different: 9% position themselves as being in the center, another 42% are on the right and 25% on the left.
In terms of religion, 24% of Catholics position themselves on the left, while 16% of evangelicals do the same. Those classified on the right are, respectively, 36% and 42% for each group.
The most recent survey was carried out after Bolsonaro’s arrest and conviction for an attempted coup d’état. In previous months, the former president was placed under house arrest for failing to comply with precautionary measures and, even before being sentenced to serve his sentence, he was preventively detained at the PF in Brasília after trying to open his electronic ankle bracelet.
Lula, in turn, leads polls of voting intentions for the 2026 elections.
Among those who said they were on the left, 9% said they voted for Bolsonaro in the 2022 election. In the group identified with the right, 22% declared their vote for .
Among Bolsonaro supporters who said they voted for Lula, the rate was lower, at 5%, as well as PT members who declared their vote for the former president, which was 7%.
