Opinion Survey Ranks Bolsonaro as Third-Worst Leader in Latin America

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, is the third worst-rated leader in Latin America; only the leaders of Cuba and Venezuela are worse, according to research done in fourteen countries in the region.

The data is from the Ipsos Institute, which interviewed 403 people in the survey conducted between June 24th and 27th this year. Opinion leaders and well-known journalists from Latin American communication channels were asked as well.

Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro received the lowest rate of approval in the area, with barely three percent supporting him, while Miguel Díaz-Canel, the leader of the Cuban dictatorship, garnered eighteen percent. Despite commanding authoritarian regimes, the two have the title of president.

Bolsonaro received the third-lowest approval with 29 percent; among the democracies, he is the worst rated.

In total, the leaders of twelve countries were ranked: Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Uruguay, Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, and Panama.

Chile had the president with the best approval; Sebastian Piñero received 68 percent in the research. In second place is Tabaré Vásquez, the president of Uruguay, with 65 percent.

In the 2018 edition of the research, the two were already the best-regarded but appeared in inverse order. With 53 percent approval, Iván Duque, president of Colombia, is in third place.

Since November 2018, when the last edition of the survey was announced here, Jair Bolsonaro’s image has improved. His approval at the time, just after having been elected, was 25 percent, four points lower than now.

Although just 21 percent of those surveyed in Brazil evaluated Bolsonaro positively, in Bolivia the president found his highest level of approval: 44 percent of those interviewed said they support him totally or partially.

Among Colombians, 85 percent disapprove of him entirely or partially, which makes Colombia the country with the worst level of support for the Brazilian president.

The Ipsos Institute, which does market studies in more than ninety countries, points out that the results presented aren’t representative of Latin American societies.

Its objective is to expose the opinions of citizens considered the most informed and influential on public opinion.