Half of Brazilian voters (52%) believe the tariffs imposed on Brazil by Donald Trump's administration are intended to help Flávio Bolsonaro's (PL) presidential campaign, while 37% reject that idea and 11% say they do not know. Among Flávio's own supporters, 29% believe the U.S. measures are intended to benefit him, a figure that rises to 73% among voters who say they support Lula (PT).That is according to a Datafolha poll conducted on July 22 and 23 among 2,004 respondents, with a margin of error of two percentage points. In the presidential race, Lula leads Flávio 40% to 32% in the first round and 48% to 43% in a runoff.
When asked who is responsible for the tariffs, 35% blame Lula, 28% point to Trump and 23% blame the Bolsonaro brothers (13% Flávio and 10% Eduardo). Regarding Brazil's preferred response, 74% favor negotiations over retaliation, while 17% support matching the tariffs item by item and 2% believe Brazil should simply accept the measures. As for Lula's handling of the dispute, 51% say he has done less than he could have, 29% believe he acted appropriately and 12% think he has done more than necessary.
The poll was conducted before the latest episode in bilateral relations: Brazil's Foreign Ministry denied visas to foreign election observers who, according to The Washington Post, intended to undermine the credibility of October's election, an allegation the United States denies.
