Brazil’s Reputation Suffers Little in Latin America Following Brasilia Riots

Views of Brazil declined among the populaces of many of the world’s major democracies following the attacks in Brasilia on Jan. 8, but reactions in Latin America were significantly more mild.

How Latin America responded to the Brasilia riots

• Among adults in 15 democracies across the world, favorable views of Brazil declined by an average of 2 percentage points following the attacks, while unfavorable views rose an average of 5 percentage points. 
• The news had a less deleterious effect among Latin American countries, as favorable views of Brazil actually increased from 60% to 65% among Peruvians and from 43% to 45% among Chileans, and were unchanged in Argentina and Mexico. However, unfavorable views rose an average of 4 percentage points among Latin Americans in those countries.
• The damage was worse in Europe, where more adults than not in France, Germany, Italy and Spain now have unfavorable views of Brazil, which also saw a 7-percentage-point rise in unfavorable views in the United Kingdom.
• The country with the single largest decline in net favorability — the share of favorable views minus unfavorable views — was Japan, where adults are now nearly twice as likely to have a negative than favorable view of Brazil.

Comparing the global reaction of Jan. 8 and Jan. 6 attacks

The ransacking of Brazil’s democratic institutions by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro dominated global headlines that day, but its potential impact on perceptions of Brazil vary broadly by country. 

In Latin America, the most disheartened population are Brazilians themselves. In four of the other Latin American nations surveyed — Peru, Chile, Mexico and Argentina —favorability either rose or stood steady.

All four countries have — or in Peru’s case, had — populist left-wing governments with varying degrees of ideological sympathy for Lula and his swift response to the riots. Investigations into Bolsonaro, the dismissal of Bolsonaro-aligned governors and military officials, the detention of more than 1,500 rioters and Lula’s vows  to punish “neo-fascists” may have gone over better — and received more media attention — in Latin America.

People farther abroad seem to have been left more perturbed by yet another assault on democracy than reassured by the government’s reaction. Declines in net favorability toward the United States following the Jan. 6 Capitol attack were similar to the declines toward Brazil in France, Germany, Spain, Canada and Japan. However, the United States saw greater declines in the United Kingdom, Italy and Australia.