Brazilia's Rousseff approval rating sinks to 9 percent

Xinhua

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Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's approval rating has sunk to 9 percent, the lowest since she took office in 2011, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The survey by polling firm Ibope sort of pointed to wide dissatisfaction with Rousseff, who just six months into her second term is struggling with a sluggish economy, unpopular austerity measures and a massive scandal sparked by high-level corruption at the once-revered state oil giant Petrobras.

Only 9 percent of Brazilians believe Rousseff is doing a good or very good job, 3 percent fewer than in April, while 21 percent rated her job performance as so-so, down from 23 percent in April.

The percentage of those surveyed who consider Rousseff's administration to be doing a bad or very bad job, rose from 64 percent in April to a record high of 68 percent.

Only 20 percent of Brazilians said they trust the president, compared to 78 percent who said they don't.

A vast majority, 82 percent, said Rousseff's second term has so far been worse than the first; 14 percent said it was the same and 3 percent said it was doing better.

The Ibope poll surveyed 2,002 registered voters in 141 cities across Brazil between June 18-21, with the margin of error at two percentage points.

Rousseff was re-elected in October with the narrowest margin of victory in Brazil's electoral history.

The corruption scandal involving state-own oil giant Petrobras, which emerged before the elections, has cost several top politicians their jobs and sparked widespread discontent, especially with the ruling Workers' Party.

Rouseff, initially facing the threat of impeachment campaigned by opposition parties, has been cleared of involvement in the bribery and kickback schemes.

The country registered dismal economic indicators last year and the first quarter of 2015, and inflation is on the rise.

In May, the government announced a series of cooperation projects with China that are expected to help spur economic growth through en estimated investment of 50 billion U.S. dollars. Enditem