Brazil's Supreme Court Distrust Reaches Record 48 Percent, Datafolha Finds
The poll marks the first time in the survey's history that Brazilians distrust their highest court more than they distrust the presidency, congress, or political parties, signaling a deepening...
Public distrust of Brazil's Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) has reached 48 percent, its highest level since polling began in 2012, according to a Datafolha survey published by Folha de S.Paulo on September 18, 2026.
The figure represents a record high in Datafolha's historical series on institutional trust, which the polling organization has tracked since 2012, according to the same report. Prior readings had not placed the STF at the top of the public distrust rankings among major Brazilian institutions.
The Datafolha results show, for the first time in the series, that the share of respondents expressing distrust in the STF numerically exceeds equivalent distrust figures for three other institutions measured in the same poll: the presidency, the national congress, and political parties. That reversal is significant because the STF had historically ranked below the legislature and parties in public skepticism, according to Folha de S.Paulo's reporting on the survey.
The survey was conducted against the backdrop of what Folha de S.Paulo describes as a serious institutional crisis facing the court. The publication did not specify in its summary the precise events constituting that crisis, and the full polling methodology, including sample size, margin of error, and fieldwork dates, would be contained in the complete Datafolha release.
The STF is Brazil's highest judicial body and holds authority over constitutional interpretation, electoral disputes, and cases involving senior federal officials. Its eleven justices are appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate, serving until the mandatory retirement age of 75, according to Brazil's constitution.
The tribunal has been at the center of repeated political controversies over recent years. Between 2022 and 2025, it issued rulings on the January 8, 2023 Capitol-equivalent riots in Brasilia, on social media regulation, and on cases involving former President Jair Bolsonaro and members of his government, all of which generated public debate about the court's scope of authority, as reported across multiple Brazilian outlets during those periods.
A 42 percent figure also appeared in the Datafolha summary published by Folha de S.Paulo, though the full context of that figure was not included in the available excerpt. The complete dataset would clarify whether 42 percent represents the trust figure, a neutral or undecided category, or a separate institutional measure.
Brazil's broader institutional trust environment has been under strain across multiple sectors. A June 2026 Latinobarometro regional report noted declining confidence in democratic institutions across several Latin American countries, though Brazil-specific breakdowns from that report were not available in the source material reviewed for this article.
The STF distrust reading is particularly notable because courts and judicial bodies in Latin America have historically commanded higher public confidence than elected bodies such as legislatures and parties, a pattern documented in repeated Latinobarometro surveys since the 1990s. A reading that places the STF below those bodies in public confidence, if confirmed by the full Datafolha release, would represent a structural departure from that regional norm.
What would further clarify the picture is the complete Datafolha report, including cross-tabulations by political affiliation, region, and income level, as well as the specific questions used to measure distrust. Folha de S.Paulo had not published those breakdowns in the summary available at time of publication.