Brazil poll numbers

From Folha de Sao Paulo, via Reuters:

Respondents in the Datafolha poll who believe Lula is honest fell to 62 percent from 73 percent in the previous survey in June, although there are no allegations Lula was involved in the scandal in which his Workers' Party has been accused of bribing lawmakers to back government legislation.

His government's approval rating fell to 35 percent from 36 percent and its disapproval rating rose to 23 percent from 19 percent. The approval rating for Congress fell to 11 percent, its lowest level since 1993.

The good news for Lula is that he still has wide personal support, and that in the polls he's beating all potential challengers for next year's election. Also, with Congress at 11% support, challengers from there look very unlikely.

The downside is that his government is not seen as effective. Like in Venezuela, a smart opposition should avoid attacking a charismatic leader and instead go after the problems within the government underneath that leader. Of course, the opposition would also have to provide an alternative, and in Brazil, the alternatives to Lula's policies aren't polling very well either.