Brazilians’ optimism over economy shoots up

Brazilians’ optimism that their economy, Latin America’s biggest, will soon improve has shot up dramatically, according to a poll released Sunday just over a week before a new far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, takes office.

The Datafolha survey showed 65 percent of respondents believed the economy—which is still limping after a record-busting recession that ended two years ago—would be doing better within months.

That was a huge jump over the Brazilian polling firm’s last survey in August, when only 23 percent thought an improvement was coming.

The survey was released ahead of the January 1 inauguration of Bolsonaro.

The formerly obscure politician found electoral success in October on a pro-business agenda promising to cut Brazil’s towering debt, usher in privatizations and back powerful agricultural and mining interests over environmental concerns.

He also won voter support by railing against the leftwing Workers Party which

ruled Brazil from boom to bust between 2003 and 2016, and which has been marred by multiple corruption

scandals.

The Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper said the optimism rating was the highest recorded since Datafolha started polling on it in 1997.

It added that while public optimism usually spiked before a new president took over, the sense of buoyancy ahead of Bolsonaro’s presidency was higher than for his predecessors.

Datafolha polled 2,077 people across the country on December 18 and 19 for the survey. The margin of error was two percentage points.

 

Brazilians optimism over economy shoots up

Brazilians optimism that their economy, Latin Americas biggest, will soon improve has shot up dramatically, according to a poll released Sunday just over a week before a new far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, takes office. The Datafolha survey showed 65 percent of respondents believed the economywhich is still limping after a record-busting recession that ended two years agowould be doing better within months. That was a huge jump over the Brazilian polling firms last survey in August, when only 23 percent thought an improvement was coming. The survey was released ahead of the January 1 inauguration of Bolsonaro. The formerly obscure politician found electoral success in October on a pro-business agenda promising to cut Brazils towering debt, usher in privatizations and back powerful agricultural and mining interests over environmental concerns. He also won voter support by railing against the leftwing Workers Party which ruled Brazil from boom to bust between 2003 and 2016, and which has been marred by multiple corruption scandals. The Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper said the optimism rating was the highest recorded since Datafolha started polling on it in 1997. It added that while public optimism usually spiked before a new president took over, the sense of buoyancy ahead of Bolsonaros presidency was higher than for his predecessors. Datafolha polled 2,077 people across the country on December 18 and 19 for the survey. The margin of error was two percentage points.