Rousseff’s popularity plummets as economy shrinks

The President’s approval rating plunged to 8 per cent in August, a record low, according to a poll released Thursday by the Datafolha Institute [Xinhua]

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s approval rating fell to a new low as Brazil’s economy contracts and she faces dissent in Congress.

The President’s approval rating plunged to 8 per cent in August, a record low, according to a poll released Thursday by the Datafolha Institute.

Rousseff is struggling to slow above-target inflation and stimulate a shrinking economy amid growing talk of impeachment, although experts have said there is no legal basis for it.

A total of 71 per cent of those polled disapproved of Rousseff’s work, higher than in 1992 when massive protests and a corruption scandal led to the ouster of then-President Fernando Collor.

Rousseff’s approval rate was even lower in the midwestern region, including Brasilia, where she scored just 6 per cent, but higher in the northeastern region where she reached 10 per cent.

The Datafolha poll was carried out on August 4-5, with 3,358 electors being polled in 201 towns across Brazil. The stated margin of error is 2 percentage points.

Now the Rousseff administration is bracing for demonstrations scheduled for August 16 that threaten to further destabilize her government and embolden her critics in Congress.

The opposition has actively been seeking for Rousseff’s impeachment since her re-election in October 2014.

Rousseff ‘s victory has made the Workers’ Party, the ruling party, become the most long-lived party to hold the presidency in the country, with its candidates having been elected to the office for four consecutive terms.

In Brazil, an impeachment cannot be called based only on popular dissatisfaction as the process needs to be backed by a legitimate legal motive.

Meanwhile, Brazil’s real continued to suffer against the dollar on Wednesday, falling even further than its 12-year record low a day earlier.

On Wednesday, fears that Brazil is in danger of losing its investment rating sent the real spiraling to 3.49 against the greenback.

Year-on-year, the real has devalued by more than 52 per cent.

But the Brazilian real is also suffering from domestic fiscal policies which saw the primary surplus target drop from 1.2 per cent of GDP to just 0.15 per cent.

Brazilian markets fear that this could signal that the country will now receive a lower investment rating.

The real’s plunge, coupled with rampant inflation, the Odebrecht/Petrobras corruption scandal, and slowing global commodities demand has pummeled the Brazilian economy.

 

TBP and Agencies