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Brazil president approval rating drops to 8%: Poll

Thursday, 06 August 2015 6:20 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 06 August 2015 6:20 PM ]

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (AFP Photo)

A recent poll conducted in Brazil shows President Dilma Rousseff's approval rating has fallen to record eight percent amid growing calls for her impeachment.

The survey published on Thursday said 71 percent of the respondents had a negative impression of President Rousseff's government, describing it as either "bad" or "terrible."

Across the spectrum, only eight percent of the participants described President Rousseff's administration as "great" or "good."

Sixty-six percent of the respondents were in favor of Rousseff being impeached.

The Datafolha polling institute, which conducted the poll, interviewed 3,358 people between August 4 and 5 for the survey. The poll has a two-percent margin of error.

The pollster conducted similar surveys on the president's approval ratings in April and June, both marking a drop in her popularity.

Rousseff was re-elected as the country's president in October, but her administration's reputation has since been badly hurt by a kickback scandal involving the ruling party, crooked businessmen and the country's giant state-run oil company Petrobras.

The Petrobras scandal emerged last year, implicating senior politicians of the governing Workers' Party, to which President Rousseff belongs.

President Rousseff had earlier served as president of Petrobras and minister of energy, when bulk of the corruption is alleged to have taken place in the corporation.