Disapproval of the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reached 50% of Brazilian voters, while approval fell to 43%, according to a Quaest poll released on Monday (7). The survey was commissioned by Globo and the newspaper O Globo. Another 7% did not know or did not answer.

In the previous round, released on September 2, disapproval stood at 48% and approval at 45%. According to G1, Globo's news portal, both movements stayed within the poll's margin of error of two percentage points. Even so, the gap between the two numbers widened from three to seven points, ending the technical tie between approval and disapproval.

Quaest, one of Brazil's leading polling firms, interviewed 2,004 voters between September 3 and 6. The survey is registered with the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Brazil's elections authority, under number BR-01720/2026. The margin of error is two percentage points and the confidence level is 95%.

Economy and household debt

The negative evaluation of the government, which combines the answers "bad" and "terrible", rose from 37% to 38%, while the positive one, "great" and "good", fell from 35% to 34%. The share calling the government merely fair held at 25%. Views on the economy were unchanged: 49% of voters say the country's situation worsened in the past 12 months, 29% say it stayed the same and 19% say it improved. Overall, 54% say their family income did not rise or grew less than the cost of living over the past year.

Household debt was the only indicator to move beyond the margin of error. The share of voters who say they have many debts rose from 22%, in the August 5 round, to 28%. Those reporting no debts fell from 31% to 27%, and those with few debts, from 47% to 44%.

According to InfoMoney, this was the first Quaest round conducted after new details emerged in the Banco Master investigation involving Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Pollster Vera Magalhães, of O Globo, said "the movement revealed by Quaest is very negative for Lula". Lula is running for reelection this year, and the coming Quaest rounds will show whether the two-point drop in approval, still within the margin of error, holds through the final stretch of the campaign.