Brazilian president seeks second term despite falling popularity

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro who is in the middle of his first year in office, indicated on Thursday that he intends to run for re-election.

In a ceremony to mark the first 200 days of Bolsonaro's administration, the president said he intends to deliver a better country to his successor, "either in 2023 or 2027." Bolsonaro's term will end in December 2022 and, under Brazilian law, he can be re-elected for another term.

"All of us have a big challenge ahead: to deliver, either in 2023 or 2027, a better Brazil for those who succeed us," he said.

Bolsonaro was elected with a 10 million vote gap over the runner-up and his congressional base is considered wide.

However, his popularity has been falling steadily since the beginning of this year. The latest polls show that his approval rate fell from over 50 percent in January to around 33 percent.

Bolsonaro said his government adopts only technical criteria in decision-making. He said he is heading a government with no accusations of corruption.

However, some members of his cabinet were hit by scandals in the first half of the year. For example, the president's party PSL (Social Liberal Party) was involved in scandals of fake candidacies in last year's elections, involving Tourism Minister Marcelo Alvaro Antonio and Presidency Secretary-General Gustavo Bebianno. Bolsonaro fired Bebianno in February, but Antonio remains in office.