Continuity and Change in Public Attitudes toward Corruption

What do Brazilian citizens think about corruption? How have those attitudes changed since the 1985 transition to democracy? Drawing on data from a variety of public opinion polls, we describe popular attitudes toward corruption over the past 30 years. In the two decades following democratization, Brazilians’ aggregate concern for corruption remained relatively low, but that concern has got consistently higher since 2005. At the individual level, respondents of higher socioeconomic status, men, and those who have been asked for a bribe are consistently more likely to list corruption as the country’s most important problem. Partisanship does not shape individuals’ views about the importance of the problem, but supporters of the incumbent party are consistently and significantly more likely than other respondents to believe that the government is making progress in combatting corruption. We conclude with observations on the implications of these findings for the likelihood of political action and institutional change concerning political corruption.