The Quaest survey released this Monday revealed that the percentage of Brazilians who say they are heavily indebted has returned to the same levels as May of this year, the month when President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) launched the Desenrola 2.0 program to address the debt problem. After months of improvement, 28% of respondents now say they have a lot of debt, matching the rate recorded before the program.
The survey shows that 27% of Brazilians claim to have no debt, while 44% say they have a little debt. The first two indicators had remained apart since June, following the renegotiations promoted by Desenrola, but have crossed again. The percentage of people with a little debt is technically equal to that of May, which was 45%.
In practice, the sum of Brazilians who report some level of indebtedness reaches 72% of the population. The survey indicates that the perception of economic improvement in the country has not been reflected in the financial situation of families, which contributes to the negative results of the Lula government in other indicators, such as executive approval.
Desenrola was launched by the federal government as a measure to renegotiate debts and reduce population indebtedness, but Quaest data suggest that the program's effects may be wearing off, returning debt levels to the levels prior to its implementation.
