Brazil»s President Dilma Rousseff at a ceremony in Brasilia to sign the bill that created the «Benefit of Overcoming Extreme Poverty in Early Childhood.»
Analysts says inflation rates are to blame for the president’s recent loss of popularity
BRASILIA — A new poll has shown Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has suffered her biggest drop in popularity since she took office in 2011.
The Datafolha survey finds 57 percent of respondents giving positive marks to Rousseff’s government, down from 65 percent in March. Her government received a negative rating from 9 percent of respondents, with the rest giving the government a regular rating or not responding.
About half of those surveyed said they were worried about inflation, while 36 percent said they had unemployment concerns, both up from the March survey.
Still, the poll showed Rousseff would easily win a re-election against former Environment Minister Marina Silva, opposition Senator Aécio Neves and Pernambuco Governor Eduardo Campos. According to the survey, Rousseff would reach 51percent of the vote competiting against her three main political rivals.
The poll surveyed 3,758 people on June 6 and 7 and has a margin of error of two percentage points.
These latest figures reflect an increase in public concern with the economic situation in which inflation tends to remain high while the economy grows at an extremely slow rate.
Despite this recent decline in the polls, the president remains a competitive candidate for reelection in October 2014, with options to win in the first round. To win in the first round, a candidate must obtain 50 percent plus one of the votes cast.
After the seeing results political analysts highlighted that the major pitfall of Dilma is the economy, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in decline, high inflation and negative numbers in industry growth.
The problem of rising prices in Brazil is serious because it is not just limited to a few products for seasonal reasons, but it spreads to everything.
Portugal visit
Rousseff, arrived in Lisbon yesterday with several of her ministers, to start an official visit that will further Brazil’s interest to participate in a programme of privatizations being carried out by the Portuguese government.
The sectors that interest Brazil are aviation, health, the postal service and ports, said yesterday the Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade of Brazil, Fernando Pimentel.
Pimentel explained that the Brazilian government is willing to fund companies that want to participate in privatizations in Portugal through the National Bank of Economic and Social Development (BNDES).
“We hope to participate alongside companies in the privatization process, but first there has to be an expression of interest from those companies,” Pimentel told reporters.
Herald with AP, Télam
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