Politics · Brazil · 4 hrs ago
Datafolha finds Brazilians split between confidence and fear before election
A Datafolha poll found Brazilians nearly split on the country's future, with 49% saying they felt confident and 48% afraid.
The survey was conducted from October 20 to 22 among 2,520 voters in 154 municipalities, ahead of Brazil's presidential runoff.
Most respondents, 62%, said they felt insecure when thinking about Brazil today, while 36% felt secure.
The poll also found that 54% felt more discouraged than encouraged and 54% felt sad rather than happy.
Using responses on six pairs of emotions, Datafolha classified 43% as optimistic, 36% pessimistic and 22% hesitant.
That was a change from a survey in late September and early October, when pessimists made up the largest group at 43%.
Voters will choose between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro in the runoff, but the poll does not say how these feelings will affect the result.
A Datafolha poll found 49% of Brazilians felt confident about the country’s future, while 48% said they feared it.
The survey was conducted before the 2026 presidential election’s second round, between October 20 and 22.
Datafolha classified 43% of respondents as optimistic, 36% as pessimistic and 22% as hesitant.
Asked how they felt about Brazil today, 62% said they felt insecure and 36% said they felt secure.
The poll surveyed 2,520 people aged 16 or older in 154 municipalities, with a maximum margin of error of 2 percentage points.
- Who
- Brazilian voters aged 16 or older surveyed by Datafolha.
- What
- The poll found the public nearly evenly split between confidence and fear about Brazil’s future.
- When
- The survey was conducted October 20–22, 2026, ahead of the second round.
- Where
- 154 municipalities in Brazil.
- Why
- To measure respondents’ feelings about Brazil ahead of the 2026 election’s second round.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
An earlier Datafolha survey classified 43% as pessimistic, 35% as optimistic and 22% as hesitant.
Datafolha conducted 2,520 interviews in 154 municipalities.
Datafolha released the poll ahead of the second round.
- Confidence about Brazil’s future
- 49%
- Fear about Brazil’s future
- 48%
- Optimistic
- 43%
- Pessimistic
- 36%
- Hesitant
- 22%
- Poll sample
- 2,520 interviews in 154 municipalities; maximum margin of error 2 percentage points