MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula 's standing remains strong.

With six months in office Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's support remains virtually unchanged in 42% according to a poll from Datafolha, aired this weekend in Sao Paulo.

Mr. Lula da Silva's popularity is just one point below his first 100 days mark, 43%. The percentage of those who consider his administration fair actually increased from 40 to 43% and those who are openly dissatisfied also grew from 10 to 11%.

The Brazilian president reached office with a 70% support, after two consecutive mandates of former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso who ended his eight years in office quiet discredited.

However Mr. Lula da Silva has a similar support to that of Mr. Cardoso at the end of his first six months in office in 1994, (40%).

According to Datafolha the overall assessment of Mr. Lula da Silva's administration dropped from 6,5 to 6 out of ten compared to the last opinion poll three months ago.

The poll was done interviewing 2,630 people in 152 different municipalities in the whole of the Brazilian territory.

In the economic front Mr. Lula da Silva's main challenge is the popular perception that his administration is a mere continuation of his predecessor's.

During the presidential campaign Mr. Lula da Silva fiercely attacked the "neo-liberal" policies of high interests, monetary and financial predominance that condemned Brazil to "stagnation and unemployment".

Facts of reality indicate that the Lula administration is tied to this monetary conception of economic policy given the country's high dependence on foreign capital and the constraints of the International Monetary Fund.

For the vast majority of Brazilians priorities are unemployment, law and order, lack of education and transport.

According to Datafolha, 50% of those interviewed consider President Lula da Silva's administration better than Mr. Cardoso's; for 31% it's the same and 13% consider it worse. With this background the percentage of Brazilians who believe the Lula administration will be excellent has dropped from 76 to 73%.