Brazil President Bolsonaro gets high level of approval amid COVID-19 devastation: Survey

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's latest approval ratings have once again proved that the right-wing controversial leader continues to enjoy a high level of popularity despite his government's poor handling of COVID-19 disease. According to a survey, Bolsonaro has been rated as "good or very good" president by 37 percent of people, while only 32 percent have termed his presidency as "bad or abysmal", which went down from 34 percent. Meanwhile, 29 percent of participants rated Bolsonaro's presidency as "average". 

Read: Brazil's Bolsonaro Assures Free COVID-19 Vaccine For All, Says 'it Won't Be Mandatory'

Bolsonaro fares poorly among students

The survey was conducted by Datafolha and was released on Sunday. The data showed that Bolsonaro is most popular among business people, while he is least popular among students and people with a higher-level education. The survey showed that Bolsonaro is more popular in the central-west and northern regions of the country. The Brazilian president, however, registered the least popularity rating for any president in the country since 1985. 

Read: Jair Bolsonaro's Bonkers 2020: Calls Covid 'Little Flu', Slams Pope, Gets Bird Bite & More

Bolsonaro fares poorly in major cities

The Datafohla had released a region-wise survey last month, where it had said that the popularity of Jair Bolsonaro was significantly decreasing in cities like Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. According to the survey, only 23 percent of the people of Sao Paulo approved Bolsonaro's presidency, while 50 percent termed it as a failure. In Rio de Janeiro, 28 percent of voters approved his management, while 42 percent rated it as terrible. 

Read: 'Beyond Belief': Brazil's Amazon Deforestation Hits 12-year High Under President Bolsonaro

This comes as COVID-19 cases and deaths in Brazil continue to mount at an unprecedented level. According to Brazil's Ministry of Health, the country has recorded 6.9 million COVID-19 cases, which is the third in the world after the United States and India. Brazil has so far registered over 1,80,000 deaths, which is only second to the United States. Bolsonaro has received a lot of criticism for his handling of the outbreak as he was often spotted breaking the health and safety protocols himself and encouraging others to do the same in order to defy restrictions imposed by the Governors.  

Read: Brazil's Bolsonaro Suffers Wave Of Defeats In Mayoral Races

(Inputs: ANI, Image: AP)