Brazilians support Lula and classify Trump’s tariff as unfair, says research

Most Brazilians see as unjustified Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 50% rate on products from Brazil and believes that Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government is properly reacting, according to a new research.

The survey, made by the Atlasintel at the request of the Bloomberg News And published on Tuesday (15), shows that 50.3% of respondents see Trump’s measure-linked by him to lawsuits against former President Jair Bolsonaro-as an attack on Brazilian sovereignty.

Following the threat of the US President on July 9, Lula stated that Brazil will respond in the same coin if the rate enters into force on August 1, as expected. For 44.8% of Brazilians, this reaction is adequate; 27.5% A considers aggressive and 25.2% think it was weak. More than half (51.2%) supports the imposition of retaliatory tariffs, while 28.6% advocate the strengthening of US rivals, such as China.

Lula’s disapproval fell to 50.3% in July, from 51.8% in June, while approval rose from 47.3% to 49.7% in the same period.

The diplomatic crisis with the US also boosted the positive assessment of the Brazilian president’s foreign policy: 60.2% now they see it favorably, against 49.6% in November 2023. The portion that believes Lula represents Brazil better in the international scenario than Bolsonaro rose from 51% to 61.1%. Almost half (47.9%) believes the government will be able to negotiate an agreement with the US.

Bolsonaro must be tried by the Federal Supreme Court for an attempted coup, after his supporters invaded the buildings of the three powers on January 8, 2023. The authorities also accuse him of involvement in a plan to murder Lula, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Minister Alexandre de Moraes.

After Trump’s tariff threat, Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro stated that the measure was the result of his US lobby efforts to obtain international support to his father.

For 62.2% of respondents, Trump’s decision is unjustified. Most consider it politically motivated: 40.9% see as retaliation for Brazil’s participation in the BRICS block and 36.9% attribute to the influence of the Bolsonaro family in the US.

Trump’s image deteriorated in Brazil: 63.2% now evaluate it negatively, compared to 47% in November 2023. Approval fell from 48% to 31.9%. The perception of the US also worsened – 50.5% has a negative view of the country, compared to 45.9% that still see it positively.

Looking forward, if tariffs enter into force next month, 48.6% believe there will be a significant impact on the Brazilian economy. About 70% expect an increase in inflation – which was 5.35% in June in 12 months.

The atlasintel listened to 2,841 people over the internet between Friday and Sunday. The margin of error of the research is two percentage points.