President Jair Bolsonaro poured big money into the Brazilian economy to improve his re-election chances. So far, it hasn’t paid off.
Opinion polls released this week show the incumbent behind his rival, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, by seven percentage points or more despite the passage of an aid package worth some 41.3 billion reais .
Such a gap is deflating hopes of a late-game comeback. The right-wing president is relying on measures including gasoline tax cuts and expanded cash subsidies to the poor to lift his popularity. He has been criticized for ringing up a bill that’s big enough to drag down the entire economy in the long-term.The size of the package is “completely unprecedented in terms of what we’ve seen in past elections,” said Thomas Traumann, a political consultant and columnist.
Double-digit inflation is squeezing Brazilians’ purchasing power and undermining Bolsonaro’s claims that he’s best-suited to helm Latin America’s largest economy.In recent weeks, Bolsonaro, 67, has combined executive action with the support of congressional allies to ease the pocketbook pain for common Brazilians. In his efforts to tame the soaring cost of living, he has taken particular aim at the price of fuel.
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