BRAZIL Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s approval rating has dropped by nearly 30 percent since a wave of anti-government protests hit the South American country earlier this month. According to the Datafolha survey released on Saturday, the Brazilian president’s approval rating has gone from 57 percent to 30 percent since June 6-7. The survey added that the number of those who thought that Rousseff’s government was doing a “bad or terrible” job has increased from nine to 25 percent. Some 4,717 people in 196 cities across the country participated in the survey. Datafolha says the latest results reflect the greatest drop in the popularity rate of a Brazilian leader since the fall of former President Fernando Collor de Mello in the early 1990s. Rousseff had a 65 percent popularity rate back in March. The protests in Brazil erupted on June 11, when people in Sao Paulo took to the streets to condemn a price hike in public transport. However, the anger has now snowballed into nationwide protests against the government’s poor services and economic policies. On June 25, seven people, including a police officer, were killed during a shootout in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. The deadly incident took place a day after Rousseff proposed a referendum on a broad “political reform.” A poll conducted by Epoca published on June 22, showed that 75 percent of Brazilian people supported the protests across the country. The demonstrators are also objecting to spending a vast amount of public money on preparations for hosting next year’s World Cup. They are demanding that the government instead spend public funds on health, education, and other public services. SZH/SS
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 12:27:16 +0000
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