SAO PAULO - Brazilian opinion polls released this week show a mixed scenario for the approval ratings of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's administration, with two surveys indicating a decline while a third one sees an improvement.

Approval of his government fell to 33% in May from 35% in February, a Genial/Quaest poll showed on Wednesday, matching the disapproval rate, which declined just 1 percentage point.

While Lula's approval as president is at its lowest since he took office last year, Quaest pollster Felipe Nunes said his decline has stopped in the more populous and affluent southeast Brazil, and among Evangelical Brazilians who tend to oppose him.

Earlier this year, polls showing his government's popularity declining prompted Lula to demand results from his cabinet ministers.

Lula is in the second year of his third non-consecutive term, after beating former President Jair Bolsonaro by a narrow margin in 2022 elections.

On Tuesday, an opinion poll from CNT/MDA had also showed a new decline in the approval of his government to 37% in May from 43% in January. Disapproval increased to 30% from 28% in the same period.

However, a third poll, with a more recent comparison base, pictured a divergent scenario, with Lula's approval rising.

Brazilians seeing his government as good or great rose to 43% in May from 38% in March, according to the poll from AtlasIntel released on Tuesday. Meanwhile, those seeing his administration as bad or terrible stabilized at 41%.

CNT/MDA interviewed 2,002 people between May 1-5, and the poll has a 2.2 percentage-point margin. AtlasIntel interviewed 1,904 people between May 3-6, and its error margin is of 2 percentage points.

Genial/Quaest interviewed 2,045 people between May 2 and May 6. The poll has a 2.2 percentage point error margin. REUTERS