This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/brazil-poll-shows-strong-support-for-presidents-impeachment/2016/03/20/9e11faec-eeab-11e5-a2a3-d4e9697917d1_story.html

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Brazil poll shows strong support for president’s impeachment Brazil poll shows strong support for president’s impeachment
(about 3 hours later)
RIO DE JANEIRO — A new poll in Brazil is showing strong support for the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. RIO DE JANEIRO — A new poll published Sunday suggested strong support for the impeachment of embattled Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in a politically polarized country mired in an economic recession and a corruption probe that has ensnared much of the county’s political brass.
The respected Datafolha agency says 68 percent of people surveyed want to see lawmakers vote to impeach Rousseff. That’s up 8 percentage points since February. The poll by the respected Datafolha agency, published in the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper, said 68 percent of people surveyed want to see lawmakers vote to impeach Rousseff. That’s up 8 percentage points since February, with the jump was highest among the rich, who supported Rousseff’s impeachment by 74 percent.
The results published in Sunday’s Folha de S. Paulo newspaper come on the heels of a topsy-turvy week in Brazilian politics that saw a Supreme Court judge suspend former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s nomination to a Cabinet post amid corruption investigations, as well as large-scale pro- and anti-government demonstrations. Just 10 percent rated Rousseff’s agoverment good or excellent, with 69 percent calling it bad or terrible.
The survey was carried out on March 17 and 18, with face-to-face interviews with 2,794 people in171 cities and towns. The margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points. The ratings of her predecessor, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, were also down possibly dented by controversy over his appointment as Rousseff’s chief of staff, a move critics said was a bid to shield him from corruption allegations.
Fifty-seven percent said they disapprove of him — a dramatic drop from the xx percent approval rating he had when leaving office xxxxxx.
But in a sign of the depth of Brazilians’ disgust with the entire political establishment, Silva held onto his ranking as the best president Brazil ever had, with 35 percent of the survey’s respondents picking him, compared with the 16 percent who chose his predecessor, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.
A Supreme Court justice on Friday suspended Silva’s nomination to the Cabinet post, and the full Supreme Court will have to decide whether he can take office. Under Brazilian law, Cabinet members cannot be investigated, charged or imprisoned unless authorized by the Supreme Court.
The Datafolha survey was carried out on March 17 and 18, with face-to-face interviews with 2,794 people in171 cities and towns. The margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.
The effort to impeach Rousseff over allegations of fiscal mismanagement moved forward last week when the lower house created a special commission on the matter.
Rousseff backers say impeachment is a power grab by opponents who themselves have been sullied by an unrelated probe into kickbacks and bribery at the state-run oil company Petrobras. Eight of the 65 members of impeachment commission are currently facing charges, as is the speaker of the lower house, Eduardo Cunha, who opened the impeachment proceedings.
The political turmoil comes as Brazil prepares to host the Summer Olympics in August while struggling with an economic crisis and an outbreak of the Zika virus, which health experts believe may cause a devastating birth defect in newborns.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.