2023-09-16 12:00:00
Renato Pizzuto/Band
Despite the ideological difference, some points bring the opinions of Lula and Bolsonaro’s electorates closer together
The Brazilian political scene in recent years has made it clear that the country is very divided, and the two largest political-ideological groups in the country today – Lulism and Bolsonarism – have distinct identities and agendas, opposed to each other in most aspects. However, there are some points of contact between the thoughts of people who are on both sides of the “coin”.
The research “The Face of Democracy in Brazil” was carried out by Institute of Democracy and Democratization of Communication (IDDC)
between the 22nd and 29th of August 2023, and points to some points of proximity between the opinions of Lulistas and Bolsonaristas. ‘Coincidences’ tend to be more present on topics for which Brazilians have more conservative stances.
In total, 2,558 face-to-face interviews were carried out with voters in 167 cities, from all regions of the country. The margin of error is estimated at plus or minus two percentage points and the confidence level is 95%.
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LGBT parade on Avenida Paulista
This is the case with the legalization of the use of all drugs considered illegal and abortion, for example, which are rejected by 77% and 71%, respectively, of supporters of the President Lula
.
Among supporters of Bolsonaro
rejection of these measures is higher, with 90% of voters opposing the legalization of abortion and 83% opposing the legalization of drug possession and consumption.
The arrest of women who terminate pregnancies, however, is similarly rejected by both groups: 65% among Lulistas, and 53% among Bolsonarista voters.
With regard to reducing the age of criminal responsibility, 62% of the current president’s supporters declare themselves in favor of the measure. Among Bolsonaro voters, this rate is 77%.
There is more divergence of thought between Lula and Bolsonaro’s “fans” when it comes to the rights of the LGBTQIAPN+ population. Among Lula’s supporters, 60% support same-sex marriage, and 38% oppose it. With regard to the adoption of children by these couples, 63% of Lulistas are in favor, and 35% are against.
In the group identified with former president Bolsonaro, 69% reject civil marriage for LGBTQIAPN+ people and 60% are against the adoption of children and adolescents in same-sex families.
Another point of sharp divergence between the two groups is the punishment for heinous crimes with the death penalty. Among those who like Lula, 64% are against this type of sentence, while Bolsonaro’s supporters are divided, with 49% defending the measure, and 47% who do not support the adoption of the death penalty in Brazil.
Democratic values, disinformation and conspiracism
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Coup protesters invade Praça dos Três Poderes on January 8, 2023
The biggest discrepancy in thought between Lula and Bolsonaro supporters occurs in the appreciation (or lack thereof) for the values of the Democratic State of Law and democratic institutions, with a more authoritarian tendency in the Bolsonaro group.
Around 40% of Bolsonaro’s supporters admit government systems other than democracy, compared to 33% among those sympathetic to Lula. Furthermore, 72% of Bolsonaro supporters continue to doubt the result of the 2022 presidential elections, stating that Bolsonaro was the winner.
With regard to the idea of a coup d’état, 73% of this electorate finds the seizure of power by the military acceptable and justifiable when there is a lot of corruption in the country, while 38% of Lula’s voters share this view.
Despite the news, investigations and court decisions to the contrary, 68% of Bolsonaro supporters blame Lula and left-wing activists for carrying out the coup and anti-democratic acts in Brasília.
On the same topic, 56% of those sympathetic to Lula point to Bolsonaro as the main culprit in the attempted coup d’état, and 17% blame extreme right-wing radical groups.
This is reflected, for example, in the relationship that each group has with the traditional press. While 45% of Bolsonaro supporters see media outlets as disseminators of lies, this rate drops to 27% among PT supporters, who see Bolsonaro and his supporters as those to blame for disinformation.
This distrust of the press is one of the reasons for the increase in belief in conspiracy theories. Among Lula’s supporters, 79% believe that vaccines are beneficial, while 67% of Bolsonaro’s supporters think the same. Furthermore, the majority of Bolsonaro’s voters (65%) believe that there is a global conspiracy for the left to take power.
However, the belief that China was responsible for creating the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 is common on both sides (53% among Lulistas, and 74% among Bolsonaristas).
With regard to the (fallacious) belief known as “flat-Earthism”, the majority of voters on both sides do not believe that the Earth is flat, with 72% of Lulistas and 79% of Bolsonaristas rejecting this conspiracy theory.
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