Majority of Brazilians Skeptical About Government Tax Reforms

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – A majority of Brazilians do not believe the government's package of tax reforms and spending cuts will be enough to address their country's fiscal deficit, a poll published on Wednesday revealed.

Among respondents aware of the measures pending Congressional approval, 68% indicated they would not sufficiently improve Brazil's public accounts, according to the Genial/Quaest survey.

Despite this skepticism, a narrow majority continues to approve of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's performance and believe the economy will improve in the next 12 months.

The survey found that 51% of Brazilians expect the economy to improve over the next year, an increase from 45% in the previous survey conducted in October.

Approval of Lula's performance as president rose by 1 percentage point to 52% since October. His Workers Party minority government's approval rating edged up to 33% from 32%.

The poll, conducted by the Quaest institute and commissioned by Genial Investimentos, interviewed 8,598 people in person between December 4-9, with a margin of error of 1 percentage point.

Notably, the survey was conducted before the 79-year-old Brazilian president underwent surgery to treat bleeding from a fall he sustained at home in October. Doctors reported that he was recovering well in hospital as of Wednesday.