Brazil's Lula more popular despite slower economy-poll

Fri Dec 5, 2008 10:04am EST
By Raymond Colitt
BRASILIA, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's approval rating has soared to a record level despite the recent slowdown in Latin America's largest economy, an opinion poll showed on Friday.
The approval rating of the charismatic former union leader jumped to 70 percent from 64 percent in September, largely because much of the public approves of the way he is handling the economy, according to a Datafolha poll published in Folha de Sao Paulo daily.
It is the highest rating for any president since Brazil's return to democracy in 1985 after 21 years of military rule.
"The economic crisis hasn't reached the population yet to the point of creating great concern," Mauro Paulino, Datafolha's director, was quoted as saying by Folha.
Lula had presided over the country's most vigorous economic expansion in decades, but pollsters had expected his approval to fall as Brazil's economy slowed.
Many economists believe Brazil will fare better in the current crisis than Europe or the United States because of its large domestic consumer market and relatively closed economy.
But they also say the worst of the economic slump still lies ahead. Brazil had been roaring ahead at around 6 percent annual growth, but growth is expected to slow to 2-3 percent next year.
In a sign of growing economic trouble, mining giant Vale (VALE5.SA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)(RIO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) this week cut 1,300 jobs and put 5,500 more on paid leave, and Volvo (VOLVb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) laid off 430 workers at one of its Brazil plants.
Even with daily signs of the downturn, over a quarter of Brazilians said they were unaware of the global crisis and 61 percent thought Lula handled the economy well, the poll showed.
Lula has benefited from broad personal popularity. His folksy charm and common man background are popular particular among the poor, and he earned the nickname the "Teflon" president for bouncing back from several corruption scandals in his first term.
Despite Lula's popularity, his party did worse than expected in local elections in October, raising doubts whether his magic touch would be enough to help elect his uncharismatic chief of staff, Dilma Rousseff, his likely presidential candidate in 2010. Lula can't run for a third consecutive term.
The poll surveyed 3,486 people from Nov. 25-28 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
($1=2.556 reais)
(Additional reporting by Inae Riveras; Editing by Jackie Frank)