RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A new Datafolha survey released on Friday, April 3rd, shows that the Ministry of Health, led by Luiz Henrique Mandetta, increased its approval rating by 21 percentage points, going from 55 percent in the survey conducted between March 18th and 20th, up to 76 percent in the one released yesterday.
The interviews were conducted by telephone between April 1st and 3rd. The survey heard 1,511 people and its error margin is three percentage points plus or minus.
There has also been a growing disapproval of the way President Jair Bolsonaro has handled the crisis caused by the coronavirus.
In the previous survey, 33 percent disapproved of the President’s role in the crisis; now it is 39 percent of respondents, a variation within the limit of the margin of error.
Bolsonaro’s approval was down from 35 to 33 percent, and the assessment that the President’s behavior is deemed only fair dropped from 26 to 25 percent, suggesting stability.
The President and the Minister have been challenging each other regarding the social isolation measures enforced by governors and mayors. On Thursday, April 2nd, Bolsonaro said that the Minister of Health lacks “humility”.