Most Brazilians believe belt-tightening hits poor hardest: poll

Some 63 percent of Brazilians believe the government's belt-tightening measures to rein in spending hit the poor hardest, according to a poll released Sunday.

The results of the survey, carried out by pollster Datafolha and published in regional daily Folha de Sao Paulo, show cuts in government social programs and proposed tax increases are expected to mainly affect the country's poor.

Another 29 percent said the measures will equally affect both the rich and the poor.

Despite the measures, which the government said aim to improve the state of the economy, 53 percent of those surveyed said they expected the economy to worsen over the coming months. Another 19 percent said it will improve, and 25 percent said it will stay the same.

A vast majority of Brazilians, 77 percent, expect inflation, one of the government's biggest concerns, to further raise prices, while 13 percent said it will remain steady and 7 percent said they were confident it will decrease.

Likewise, 73 percent of Brazilians expect continued rising unemployment as the economy slows down, while 14 percent said it will remain the same and 11 percent believe it will fall.

Datafolha said it surveyed 2,840 people in 174 cities across Brazil. The poll has a two-point margin of error. Endite