Wanted: God-Fearing, Experienced President to Fix Brazil
Brazilians want a God-fearing president with ample political experience to improve welfare and security.
(Bloomberg) -- Disillusioned Brazilian voters want a God-fearing president with ample political experience to improve social welfare and public security, according a poll published on Tuesday.
Nearly three quarters of respondents said it doesn’t matter what party their candidate belongs to, according to CNI/Ibope poll published on Twitter. Nearly half have no preference for a political party at all, the poll showed.
Brazilians will head to the ballot box in October with the country’s worst recession on record and a historic corruption probe fresh in their minds. Those factors have fueled distrust in the political elite, prompting TV show hosts and other outsiders to consider a bid.
Brazilians’ main concern is to improve public services from health and education to security. Yet only 20 percent are optimistic regarding the upcoming race, the poll showed. Seventy-nine percent say it’s important the candidates believe in God.
"It’s because Brazilians are disillusioned with politicians recently that they’re looking for someone experienced," said Carlos Manhanelli, a Sao Paulo-based electoral marketing consultant. "The poll shows generic concerns, voter preference depends on more specific proposals."
The leftist Workers’ Party of former heads of state Dilma Rousseff and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was the most popular party with 19 percent of preference, followed by current President Michel Temer’s MDB party with seven percent. Lula may be banned from running, still leaving roughly a dozen candidates to compete in this year’s race.
The CNI/Ibope poll surveyed 2,000 people in 127 municipalities on Dec 7-10, 2017. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
--With assistance from Luisa Marini
To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Malinowski in Brasilia at mmalinowski@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Vivianne Rodrigues at vrodrigues3@bloomberg.net, Raymond Colitt, Walter Brandimarte
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