Brazil Pulse - April 2017
The perception that the country is heading in the WRONG direction grew 5% in the past 3 months: it went from 87% in February to 92% in April, index that is close to April 2016 93%, at the climax of President Dilma’s impeachment process.
Country's directions
For 92% of Brazilians the country is on the wrong course. Besides reflecting dissatisfaction with the political, economic and social instability, this indicator also reflects the concern of the population regarding the future of Brazil: 57% of people see the future with concern and another 31% with revolt. The low feeling of optimism has gone back dropping and is now at 6%. The lack of perspective for the future is also the result of the reform agenda and has a strong impact on the evaluation of the administration and image of President Michel Temer.
President's evaluation
The negative evaluation of the administration of President Michel Temer increased from 62% to 75% reflecting the insecurity of the population regarding the agenda related to social security and labor reforms. There is a latent fear of a loss of rights and that these reforms will benefit the wealthiest, politicians and business owners and not employees, the Brazilian society or the poorest. In a context of political and economic instability, with a serious moral crisis affecting the county’s main leaders and institutions, it is understandable that the population feels insecure about these reforms, given those who are proposing and legislating them do not have the public opinion approval.
Consumer confidence index
Consumer confidence index dropped again and is at levels very close to that of a year ago, when Dilma Rousseff was suspended from Office - when the impeachment was voted. From that date to now, the lack of consumer confidence has fluctuated, but never surpassed 80 points (the maximum reached was 79 points in December, period of greater optimism because of the prospect of a new year and the payment of the ‘13th salary,’ which brings some increase to the budget of citizens). The current political and economic framework has a strong influence on the negative trend of the CCI, especially regarding indicators of employment insecurity. However, distrust with the country’s leaders, the strong feeling of being on the wrong course and fears about the future compose a dramatic recipe that shakes the confidence of Brazilians and has a strong negative impact on consumption, be it by-in-large or day-by-day such as shopping at the supermarket.
