Support for democracy in Brazil rises to 73%, according to Datafolha research

Democracy is seen as the best form of government by 73% of Brazilians, according to a Datafolha survey released this Friday (2). This is an increase compared to December 2024, the last time the institute asked voters about the topic and 69% said they preferred democracy.

For 15% of those interviewed by the institute, it doesn't matter whether the government is a democracy or a dictatorship, while 7% said that, in certain circumstances, a dictatorship is preferable to a democratic regime. Another 5% were unable to answer and 1% provided other answers.

Datafolha interviewed 2,506 voters aged 16 or over, distributed across 152 Brazilian municipalities, between September 29th and October 1st. The margin of error is plus or minus two percentage points. The research was commissioned by Folha and TV Globo and registered with the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) under number BR-08039/2026.

The lowest number in the historical series, which began in 1989 after the country's redemocratization, occurred in February 1992, when 42% were in favor of the democratic regime. The highest (79%) was in October 2022, in the last presidential election.

Support for democracy is 76% among voters for Lula (PT), and 74% among those for Flávio Bolsonaro (PL), candidates who appear ahead of the last Datafolha for the presidential election.

Among those who support Lula, those who defend the dictatorship in some circumstances represent 5%. Among Flávio voters, the rate is 9%.

The proportion of men in favor of democracy (78%) is higher than among women (68%), and also higher in the age group between 35 and 44 years old (78%) compared to those between 25 and 34 years old (68%).

The result occurs at a time when the possibility of foreign intervention in the Brazilian elections is being monitored, in particular interference by Donald Trump, president of the United States, to favor Flávio.

A few months ago, Brazil became the focus of the Rockbridge Network, a private right-wing American group founded by the Vice President of the United States, J.D. Vance. Two businesspeople linked to the group helped Flávio with support services for his candidacy and advice on the sale of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Documents about the group's installation in the country even deal with the presidential election.

Renan Santos, Missão's presidential candidate, accuses Flávio of having his campaign financed by Rockbridge and foreign businessmen interested in the exploration of rare earths. The PT also filed representations against the group in the Electoral Court.