Brazilians Prepare To Vote Amid Financial Uncertainty

The majority of Brazilians will be thinking of their pocketbooks, and financial status first when they cast ballots in next month's presidential elections.

According to a Datafolha poll, the economy will be the top issue for 53 per cent of Brazilians as they choose their candidates including far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Brazil's economy has shown recent signs of recovery after being hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

It registered a growth of 1.1 per cent in the first quarter and 1.2 per cent in the second after advancing 4.6 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020 when the economy declined 3.9 per cent.

In the three months to July, unemployment reached a near seven-year low of 9.1 per cent, down from 13.7 per cent in the same period in 2021.

Despite slowing in July, year-on-year inflation was at 10.07 per cent and has been in the double digits since September last year.

Food inflation continued a relentless climb to reach 14.72 per cent over the 12 months to July, aggravating the scourge of hunger.

Paulo Feldmann, professor of economics at the University of Sao Paulo said; "There have never been so many hungry people in Brazil.

"Brazil is today above the world average. Sixty per cent of the population today suffer from food insecurity."

Amid all these perceptions about the economy, Brazilians yearn for the election and would look to poll, expecting their finances to improve, according to Datafolha.