Optimism Among Brazilians Declines, According to Datafolha

04/14/2014 - 09h00

Brazilians were once more optimistic about their country.

That's what Datafolha found in the results of its most recent poll in 2013 on whether or not people are proud to be Brazilian, the assessment of the country as a place to live, and expectations with regards to inflation, employment and purchasing power, among other economic aspects.

To calculate the evolution of the general mood of the population, the institute has now created a new indicator, the Datafolha Confidence Index (IDC), a product of the reviews of selected research topics frequently look at during its research.

The IDC ranges from zero to 200. On this scale, zero is the total lack of confidence on the part of the entire population. Reaching 200 would mean all those interviewed showed maximum enthusiasm in all matters that make up the index.

The higher the IDC, the greater the degree of confidence and optimism. The lower, the worse the situation. If it reaches above 100, the feeling is positive. Below this level means it's negative.

In March 2013, when President Dilma Rousseff beat her record of popularity (65% approval), Brazil's IDC was 148, a positive result by a wide margin.

Based on the latest survey, taken on April 2 and 3, Datafolha found that Brazil's IDC fell to 109 - still positive, but now by a narrow margin.

The decrease of 39 points in the span of just over a year equates to a drop of almost 20% in the general sense of trust Brazilians have in their country.

This decline helps explain the decrease in approval of Dilma's government, a president with the potential of reelection. Now, 36% of Brazilians see her government as good or great. Another 25% say her administration is poor or very poor.

Datafolha also calculated the specific IDCs of each of the seven subjects included in the general IDC.

In three categories, results were positive. They are the areas that, despite registering a decrease compared to March 2013, are still well regarded by the population.

The best result was found in the evaluation of Brazil as a place to live, with an IDC of 179.

Other good results were found in investigations into pride to be Brazilian (IDC 159) and in expectations regarding the economic situation of the interviewee (also 159).

In the other categories, the IDC was below 100, the average level. The worst was regarding expected inflation, with an index of 17.

Translated by JILL LANGLOIS

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