Entrenching right-wing populism under covid-19: denialism, social mobility, and government evaluation in Brazil

Abstract: This paper analyzes how President Jair Bolsonaro’s attitudes and policies towards the covid-19 pandemic reverberated in the population as a way of exploring the microlevel congruence between voter and representative positions. We investigate popular support for Brazilian president positions denying the covid-19 pandemic, bringing together supply and demand sides of right-wing populism. Using public opinion data from a survey applied in mid-2020, we focus on how support for the public health system, positions on which government level should lead the responses to the pandemic, perception of risks associated with the virus and adoption of social distancing varied among citizens. Results show low levels of support to denialist positions, except among core Bolsonaro supporters. However, perceptions of social mobility, as an indicator of status threat or gain, were important to explain support of the Bolsonaro government in the period.