Brazil polls facing Bolsonaro backlash after election miss
By Carla Bridi | AP
October 14, 2022 at 2:11 p.m. EDT
An impersonator of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro rides a cow statue during a campaign event for Bolsonaro’s run for reelection in Duque de Caxias, on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. The presidential run-off election is set for Oct. 30. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
BRASILIA, Brazil — Brazilian polling companies have been facing threats of a crackdown after their surveys for the election’s first round significantly understated the support for the president and his allies. Multiple analysts consulted by The Associated Press – even those who said polls have room to improve – slammed these efforts.
“The main goal is not to improve electoral polls, but to persecute and punish institutes,” said Alberto Almeida, who leads political research institute Brasilis. “There were mistakes, but voting on a bill, doing a congressional investigation — that is an embarrassment. Wanting to criminalize is senseless.”
. . .
“These investigations seem to demonstrate the intention to satisfy (Bolsonaro’s) electoral will,” de Moraes wrote in his decision.
A pro-government senator requested the Senate to investigate which institutes operate “outside tolerable margins.” And Bolsonaro’s whip in the lower house presented a bill to criminalize polls conducted within 15 days of elections whose findings differ significantly from results.
More:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/brazil-polls-facing-bolsonaro-backlash-after-election-miss/2022/10/14/a4de906a-4be2-11ed-8153-96ee97b218d2_story.html