Back to Lulism:

personal approval and social classes

Abstract

This article re-examines Singer's analysis on the social basis of Lulismo in Brazil. In particular, it examines the thesis that one of the fundamental characteristics of that political phenomenon relates to the support of the subproletariat for the leadership of Luís Inácio Lula da Silva during his first two presidential terms. For this purpose, based on Latinobarometer data for Brazil (2005-2010), a personal approval scale for that leader is used. Furthermore, a three-fold class schema is proposed, consisting of three categories – middle class, working class and subproletariat. Based on these variables, descriptive data and regression models are elaborated. The article shows that the subproletariat showed higher rates of support for Lula throughout the series. Furthermore, the associations between class and predilection for Lula were statistically significant in three years (2007, 2009 and 2010).