A new poll released Thursday shows President Dilma Rousseff disapproval rating at historic lows.
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Up until June 2013 when Brazil was rocked by nationwide protests following a hike in transport fees, Rousseff enjoyed approval ratings as high as 80 percent and was widely regarded for her tough stance on corruption, having expelled several ministers after she took office in 2010. The percentage who said her administration is “great” or “good” stands at 8 percent, down from 10 percent.
Authorities had been investigating Collor for some time and in July seized three of his luxury cars from his home in Brazil’s capital Brasilia.
The Brazilian President is facing a combination of negative factors. But he blamed policy mistakes in Ms Rousseff’s first term for the woes of Latin America’s largest economy, which is expected to shrink 1.7 per cent this year.
The drop in her popularity also comes amid an economic deterioration and a corruption scandal that is threatening her government.
The charges were brought by Attorney General Rodrigo Janot as part of an investigation into kickbacks and bribery at Petrobras that saw millions funneled into the private accounts of company or local officials when construction firms vied for juicy contracts.
Mr. da Silva, who handpicked Ms. Rousseff as his party’s candidate to succeed him, hasn’t been implicated in the Petrobras scandal.
The Datafolha poll was carried out on August 4-5, with 3,358 electors being polled in 201 towns across Brazil.
Even as Mr Temer sought to keep Mr Rousseff’s coalition from further disintegrating, fellow members of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), her main ally, dined with senators of the opposition Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) to discuss a pact to fill the leadership vacuum.
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The poll revealed that 66 percent of those questioned would like to see the Brazilian Congress begin impeachment proceedings against Rousseff.
