Survey: 73 percent of Brazilians Unhappy with Economic Measures Against Virus

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The economic measures hitherto announced by the government to mitigate the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in Brazil have left 73 percent of respondents unhappy, according to a survey conducted by the FSB Institute in partnership with BTG Pactual.

The survey ‘Brazilians and the Coronavirus: Insights into the pandemic and its economic impacts’ interviewed 2,132 voters aged 16 and over from all parts of Brazil on March 26th and 27th, by telephone. The error margin is two percentage points, with a 95 percent reliability range.

Of the total number of respondents, 69 percent were aware of the measures. Of these, 37 percent regard the measures as more or less satisfactory, 36 percent as little or not satisfactory and 27 percent as satisfactory or very satisfactory.

The perception that measures are insufficient is more frequent in women (27 percent) up to the age of 40 (59 percent) and it interestingly grows according to the level of schooling. The percentage differs greatly depending on the region of the country.

Who is doing more during the crisis?

When asked who is doing more — the federal government, state governments, city halls or businesses — 41 percent of respondents ranked state governments first and 31 percent ranked city halls second. The federal government was ranked first by 27 percent.

The vast majority of state and municipal governments stepped ahead of the federal government in their social isolation and non-essential trade shutdown policies. The approach led to clashes with Bolsonaro, who advocated isolating only the most vulnerable population (the elderly and chronically ill).

After being virtually isolated in this discourse, the President lowered his tone yesterday regarding the severity of the disease. The Ministry of Health’s latest official balance is 201 deaths and 5,717 confirmed cases of the disease in the country.

Over half of respondents (51 percent) agree with the need to maintain people at home to reduce the number of deaths from the coronavirus, even if this leads to heavy economic losses.

Meanwhile, 42 percent say it is necessary to keep only high-risk groups at home, such as the elderly and those suffering from other diseases, allowing the gradual reopening of trade.

Source: Exame