In the ranking of problems faced by the country according to the opinion of Brazilian people, corruption stands alone as the number one for the first time.
A Datafolha survey held on November 25 and 26 across the country showed that 34% of Brazilian voters believe that corruption is Brazil’s biggest problem today. Corruption is followed by health care with 16%, unemployment, 10%, and education and violence, both with 8%. The economy was cited by 5% of those interviewed.
The survey was held amid the Brazilian Federal Police’s Lava Jato Operation, which started with the investigation of black market dollar traders in 2014 and escalated with the discovery of a corruption scheme at Petrobras involving company employees, major contractors and politicians, and later reached the electric power sector.
Datafolha has investigated Brazilians’ main concerns since 1996, during the first Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration.
During the second Cardoso administration (ending in 2002), the leading issue on the ranking of main problems was unemployment, with a record 53% at the end of 1999. In some surveys, the issue of hunger/poverty was the runner-up on the list – the same issue was cited by only 1% in the latest survey.
Unemployment was the most cited issue on the ranking until the end of the first Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration in 2006.
The second Lula administration began with a substantial increase in worries regarding violence/security, which was at the top of all surveys in 2007. From 2008 until June 2015, the most cited problem was the health care system.
During the Lula and Cardoso administrations, corruption was never indicated as the country’s main problem by more than 9% of the voters.