Politics · Brazil · 1 hr ago
Poll finds 16% of Brazilian voters do not see country as a democracy
A Datafolha poll found 16% of Brazilian voters do not see the country as a democracy.
The survey, conducted on October 13 and 14, found that 50% see Brazil as a democracy with major flaws, 23% see small problems and 7% say it is fully democratic.
The results are similar to a 2024 poll, when 16% also said Brazil was not a democracy.
The issue has featured in this year's election campaign, where Senator Flávio Bolsonaro proposed constitutional changes to “redemocratize Brazil.”
His proposal has drawn criticism, with critics saying Brazil's democratic institutions remain in place, including regular free presidential elections since 1989.
Views differ sharply by candidate preference: 23% of Flávio Bolsonaro's voters say Brazil is not a democracy, compared with 8% of Lula's voters.
The poll interviewed 2,520 voters and had a margin of error of two percentage points; no further steps are specified.
A Datafolha poll found that 16% of Brazilian voters do not consider the country a democracy.
Half said Brazil is a democracy with major flaws, while 23% saw minor problems and 7% considered it a full democracy.
The poll was conducted on October 13 and 14, with a margin of error of two percentage points.
Senator Flávio Bolsonaro raised questions about whether Brazil is a full democracy during this year’s election campaign.
Among voters who said they supported Flávio, 23% did not consider Brazil a democracy, compared with 8% of Lula supporters.
- Who
- Datafolha surveyed 2,520 Brazilian voters.
- What
- The poll measured voters’ views of Brazil’s democracy; 16% said the country is not a democracy.
- When
- Interviews took place on October 13 and 14, 2026.
- Where
- Brazil.
- Why
- The poll examined perceptions of the quality of Brazilian democracy. The sources do not state a specific reason for conducting it.
Flávio Bolsonaro
Critics of his questioning
Whether Brazil is a full democracy
Flávio Bolsonaro
Flávio asked whether Brazil is a full democracy and said it is not.
Critics of his questioning
Critics said the questioning was unfounded, pointing to the rule of law and regular free presidential elections.
In an earlier Datafolha survey, 9% said Brazil was not a democracy.
In the previous survey asking the question, 16% said Brazil was not a democracy.
Two days after the first round, Flávio Bolsonaro said he would propose constitutional changes to “redemocratize Brazil.
Datafolha interviewed 2,520 voters for the latest poll.
- Not a democracy
- 16% of voters
- Democracy with major flaws
- 50% of voters
- Democracy with minor problems
- 23% of voters
- Full democracy
- 7% of voters
- Sample size
- 2,520 voters
- Margin of error
- Two percentage points
What people are saying
Do you think Brazil is in a full democracy today? It’s a question. Think about it: is Brazil in a full democracy? No.