MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Living conditions of Brazilians has deteriorated under Bolsonaro, study says

Inflation is among the main causes for Bolsonaro's disapproval

A survey released this week has shown that the overall living conditions of Brazilians under President Jair Bolsonaro has taken a turn for the worse, which would account for the drop in his approval ratings, which do not make him the favorite to win next year's elections.

Among the causes of the administration's disapproval is the increase in the price of food and fuel, the study conducted by the consulting firm Poder Data showed. Around 54% of those interviewed admitted their lives had worsened under the current administration, while only 22% felt the other way.

A similar survey carried out when Bolsonaro had been in office for a year and a half stated that 37 percent of Brazilians had experienced improvement while 22 percent had worsened, which signals a U-turn in the trend, according to the survey.

The study, conducted between Dec. 6 and 8, 2021, also showed 37% of Brazilians considered their lives had not changed.

The survey also detgected the main cause for Bolsonaro's disapproval was the increase in inflation and the pronounced increase in the prices of food, cooking gas and fuel, among other reasons.

Meanwhile, more than 65% of Braziliand have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, emaning there are over 138.8 million people with a complete scheme, after a total 318,588,305 doses have been applied since the beginning of the immunization effort.

Booster doses have also been applied to 19,775,714 people, representing 9.27% of the population, while 159,967,663 people, representing 74.99% of the population, have taken at least the first dose of vaccines.

The survey is the result of a partnership between the press media consortium, formed by G1, O Globo, Extra, O Estado de S.Paulo, Folha de S.Paulo and UOL. Monitoring of vaccination data started Jan. 21. The consortium of press vehicles was formed in June 2020, in response to a decision by Bolsonaro to, at the time, restrict access to data on the pandemic.