The suspension of fines for electronic toll payers and the new rules that make it easier to obtain a driver’s license mainly benefit a public that has rejected President Lula, according to the latest electoral polls.
As published by Sheetthe government will suspend, across the country, 3 million fines and points on the CNH (National Driving License), a system known as “free flow”.
In the system, which replaces traditional toll plazas, vehicles are charged per distance traveled by automatically reading license plates. Payment is made on the dealership’s website.
According to the National Register of Qualified Drivers, from the Ministry of Transport, 64% of drivers in the country are men. The majority are concentrated in the age group of 31 to 60 years.
The profile corresponds to the data showing the greatest rejection of Lula in the most recent survey, carried out between the 3rd and 5th of March across the country. According to the survey, the PT member (PL) in rejection – Lula with 46% and Flávio, with 45%.
However, rejection of the president is driven by men aged 16 to 59, reaching 57% in the group between 35 and 44 years old. In this specific cut, the margin of error is plus or minus seven points.
Last December, the Lula government had already given a nod to drivers by ending driving schools for anyone who wants to get a driver’s license. The workload will go from 20 to just two hours, it can be done online and the future driver will decide whether the practical classes will be in traditional driving schools or with accredited professionals.
Furthermore, the goalpost tests were removed from the practical exams. Drivers without a point of infraction on their license registered in the year prior to renewing their driver’s license will have theirs.
In the opinion of Marcelo Vitorino, professor of political marketing at ESPM, government measures aimed at drivers are not enough to convert votes in an election year.
“Voters, in recent years, have shown a preference for candidates who are truly aligned with their beliefs,” he said.
Political scientist Alberto Carlos Almeida, author of the books “A Cabeça do Brasileiro”, “A Cabeça do Eleitor” and “O Voto do Brasileiro”, agrees that the suspension of fines and the new measures to remove the driver’s license should not soften the president’s image among the electorate that rejects him.
“To become a favorite, the Lula government needs to improve the government’s positive assessment and adopt more comprehensive measures. This free flow measure shows that the government may even be aware of the problem, but it does not mean that it has the capacity to convert votes,” he stated.
Free flow generates wear
Applied in the country since 2023, the free flow model caused particular stress to the governor of , (Republicans), who backed away from implementing the modality last year.
Mayors and state deputies criticized the plans to increase the number of gantries, the visibility of some of them and the fact that anyone who does not pay the toll within 30 days will need to pay a fine and five points on their driver’s license.
A Datafolha survey this month showed that voters see the state government and concessionaires as the main responsible for the amount of tolls on São Paulo’s roads.
One in three respondents (33%), while 30% placed the responsibility on the dealerships. The Lula government was mentioned by 26%. The margin of error is plus or minus two percentage points.
The Tarcísio government was more responsible for men (40%), a group of people to whom the president has waved the measures.
Political scientist Luciana Santana, professor at UFAL (Federal University of Alagoas), observes that the exemption can target not only new audiences, but also recover voters with whom the PT has lost dialogue over the years.
“Maybe try to broaden the base, try to win over a vote that was lost, mainly because the Lula government was already there in other terms,” she said.
