“Intersectionality, Discrimination, and Presidential Approval: An Intersectional Analysis of Bolsa Família Recipients’ Presidential Satisfaction of Dilma Rousseff and Political Trust”

By Gladys Mitchell-Walthour, PhD

Abstract:

This article is an exploratory project that employs an intersectional approach to examine presidential satisfaction of former president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, and political trust of individuals living in Bolsa Família households. Seventy-three percent of Bolsa Família beneficiaries; a conditional cash transfer program, are Afro-Brazilian. Findings reveal that in 2012, among Bolsa Família households, 25 percent of black women believed Rousseff was doing a bad or very bad job.This is the highest percentage of dissatisfaction of all racial and gender groupings of Bolsa Família households. In the ordered logistic regression analysis, only political party is statistically significant rather than the interaction of race and gender. In terms of mistrust, based on an ordered logistic regression, respondents in Bolsa Família households who have experienced discrimination are more likely to have higher levels of mistrust in the Brazilian political system compared to those who have not experienced discrimination.