Most Brazilians in new poll support Bolsonaro impeachment

The majority of Brazilians in a new poll said for the first time that they are in favor of impeaching President Jair Bolsonaro.

The survey from the Brazilian polling institute Datafolha found that 54 percent of Brazilians are in favor of the country’s lower house moving to impeach Bolsonaro, Reuters reports. Just more than four in 10 — 42 percent —  percent opposed the action.

Reuters notes that an earlier poll had showed roughly equal percentages supporting and opposing impeachment.  

Datafolha’s survey was conducted from July 7 to 9 and involved 2,074 face-to-face interviews with Brazilians. The results have a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

Brazil has recently been shaken by allegations that federal authorities sought out bribes to speed up and overpay for Indian-made Covaxin vaccines. A judge in the nation’s highest court recently approved an investigation into Bolsonaro for for dereliction of duty, Reuters reports.

In a separate poll, the disapproval rate of Bolsonaro’s administration rose from 45 percent in May to 51 percent at the beginning of July. However, his government’s approval rating actually remained the same at 24 percent.

Two deadly waves of COVID-19 infections have also negatively impacted Bolsonaro’s popularity, Reuters notes.