About four in 10 Brazilian adults say they are satisfied with how democracy is working in their country, while 68% lack confidence in elected officials to act in the public's best interest, according to a Pew Research Center survey released ahead of Brazil's October election.
The survey of 1,054 adults in Brazil was conducted from February 20 to April 15, 2026. It also found nearly equal favorable views of Brazil's two largest trading partners: 47% viewed the United States positively and 46% said the same of China.
Views of democracy and institutions
Pew said satisfaction with democracy has been relatively stable since President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva began his third term in 2023, but the longer trend has shifted substantially. Nearly two-thirds of Brazilians were satisfied in 2013, while 83% said they were dissatisfied in 2018, the highest dissatisfaction in more than a decade of the center's surveys.
The new survey found that 57% lacked confidence in business leaders to act in the public's best interest. More Brazilians expressed confidence than a lack of confidence in professors, scientists, police officers and journalists, while views of military and religious leaders were divided.
Supporters of the governing party and its coalition partners were more likely than other Brazilians to trust some institutions. Eighty-seven percent of supporters said they had confidence in college and university professors, compared with 68% of others; confidence in elected officials was 41% among supporters and 25% among others.
Trade partners and political differences
Views of the United States have fallen sharply in Brazil since President Donald Trump's second term began, while favorable views of China have risen since a low point in 2023, Pew said. These are survey attitudes, not measurements of trade flows or government policy.
Ideology divided opinions of both countries. Among Brazilians who placed themselves on the political left, 57% viewed China favorably, compared with 40% on the right. For the United States, the figures were 30% on the left and 58% on the right.
Three in 10 Brazilians expressed confidence in Trump to do the right thing in world affairs, a share Pew said has not changed significantly from last year but is twice the 15% recorded in 2018. Twenty-two percent expressed confidence in Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The leaders' ratings also differed by ideology: 46% on the Brazilian right expressed confidence in Trump, compared with 14% on the left. For Xi, the figures were 18% on the right and 31% on the left.
Brazil's first-round general election is scheduled for October 4. Lula is seeking a fourth term and Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, is among his prominent opponents; if no candidate receives 50% of the vote, a runoff is scheduled for October 25.
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