Effects of Lava Jato Operation on the Country's Corruption Divides Brazilians

05/04/2017 - 12h53

A survey by Datafolha shows that, three years after the beginning of the Lava Jato operation, Brazilian voters have different views on the issue of whether corruption will fall in the country after the operation.

Fort-five percent of those interviewed said that the number of crimes will reduce after Lava Jato. Most of them, however, have a different opinion: 44% believe that corruption will continue at the same level it is now, while 7% think that it will grow - the two categories together represent more than 51% of the total.

With 39 phases, Lava Jato has already produced a deep impact in Brazilian politics. The operation led to the arrest of former ministers, the ex-president of the House of Representatives, a senator and the country's main constructors.

The perception that corruption will continue at the same level that it is today after the Lava Jato operation is higher among young voters - it reaches 50% among those between ages 16 and 24 - and falls as age increases, with 36% among those above 60.

The idea that corruption will reduce after Lava Jato is more common among voters with higher income, reaching 54% among those who earn more than R$ 9,400 (US$ 2.955) per month, as well as those who say they are well-informed regarding the list of politicians denounced by construction company Odebrecht - in this group, 53% believe corruption will decline.

Most Brazilian voters (72%) believe that some politicians will be arrested, but not the majority. Thirteen percent believe that most politicians will be arrested, and 7% say all Brazilian politicians will go to prison.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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