Survey reveals profile of Sunday protesters

Protesters in the anti-government demonstrations Sunday (Aug. 16) were profiled to be mostly white, educated, high income earners, and to have voted for runner-up Aécio Neves in the latest presidential election in October 2014.

The data was reported by surveys carried out by Datafolha Institute during the demonstration on Avenida Paulista in São Paulo, and by the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG)'s Grupo Opinião Pública at Praça da Liberdade in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. According to Datafolha, the people who joined the demonstrations on Sunday had a similar profile to that found in the demonstrations on March 15 and April 12.

In São Paulo, 76% said they had university education, 75% described themselves as white, and 67% said their household incomes were above five times the minimum wage in Brazil (equivalent to $1,131.83).

In Belo Horizonte, 56.6% reported their household incomes as above five times the minimum wage, 64.5% said they have completed or are pursuing postgraduate or undergraduate studies, and 58.8% self-identified as white.

As for their political and ideological views, 14% of respondents in São Paulo described themselves as leftists, 34% said they are at the center of the ideological spectrum, and 47% said they have right-wing views.

In São Paulo, 77% said they had voted for Aécio Neves in the runoff of the 2014 presidential elections, compared to 79% in Belo Horizonte.

The survey in Belo Horizonte found that 53.7% of the people in the demonstrations have voted for the now-ruling Workers' Party (PT) at least once ever. As for respondents' feelings about the party, 75.6% said they felt outraged at the party, and 72.1% said they felt disgusted. Attitudes toward President Dilma Rousseff were similar – 75.6% of respondents reported outrage, and 70.7% reported disgust.

Asked what they feel would be best for the country, 40.8% of respondents in Belo Horizonte mentioned President Dilma Rousseff's impeachment, 36.4% answered resignation, and 13.1% would go for military intervention.

About the statement that “The military forces should take over in a situation of great social unrest”, 46.8% of respondents said they “strongly/somewhat agree”, 47.2% said they “strongly/somewhat disagree” and 5.8% “neither agree nor disagree”.

The study heard 1,355 people in São Paulo, within a margin of sampling error of 3 percentage points. In Belo Horizonte, respondents totaled 434 people, within a margin of sampling error of 4.5 percentage points.

Translated by Mayra Borges