07/04/2015
Approval rates for Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff reached historic lows amid economic troubles and a corruption scandal, reducing her chances of approving austerity measures in Congress.
A new poll released Wednesday showed that only 12% of 2,002 respondents across the country said Ms. Rousseffs administration was “good or excellent,” compared with 40% in a poll published in December, while 64% considered her administration “bad,” up from 27% in December.
The poll was conducted between March 21 and March 25 by polling firm IBOPE for the National Confederation of Industry, or CNI, with a margin of error of two percentage points.
The government didnt immediately have any comment, a spokeswoman said.
The polls result is the lowest for any president since 1995, the oldest data immediately available from CNI. It comes after massive protests that brought more than a million Brazilians to the streets in March to protest against corruption and other issues.
The protests may have “contaminated the results,” said CNI Survey Manager Renato da Fonseca.
The poll, though, reinforces a downward trend in approval rates showed by other recent surveys, and adds to a difficult period for the leader of Latin Americas largest economy.
It comes in the wake of a tight and tense election in October, when Ms. Rousseff narrowly won a second four-year term amid economic weakness, high inflation and a widening budget gap that made credit-rating agencies put Brazil on watch for a downgrade to junk status.
But the economy isnt the only problem. In fact, the poll showed that news about investigations of alleged corruption at Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the state-controlled oil company known as Petrobras, was cited by 28% of respondents, making it the leading theme in their minds. Inflation, the leading economic theme, was mentioned by 4% of the sample.
Prosecutors say that billions of dollars were skimmed from Petrobras by executives who funneled part of the allegedly illegal proceeds back to government-supporting parties. Ms. Rousseff was energy minister and Petrobras chairwoman for much of that period, before becoming Brazils president and has said she didnt know about the alleged wrongdoing.
Although she hasnt been implicated in the investigations, high-profile politicians linked to the Workers Party have. Opposition parties have called for Ms. Rousseffs impeachment.
It is also possible that Ms. Rousseffs rates have hit bottom. CNIs Mr. Fonseca said that he “wont be surprised” if the next poll in June shows a recovery in Ms. Rousseffs ratings. “The evaluation is too low. The result was inflated by the street protests,” he said.
Fonte: The Wall Street Journal Online – 06/04/2015