Brazilians turn against their president
Date July 1, 2013 - 12:07AM
Resisting arrest: A demonstrator pushes against riot police during a protest in Belem. Photo: Reuters
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's approval rating dropped the most since former president Fernando Collor's 1990 plunge after confiscating savings accounts, as protesters occupied Belo Horizonte city hall.
Ms Rousseff's approval fell to 30 per cent, down from 57 before protests began three weeks ago and a high of 65 in March, a survey by Datafolha published in the daily newspaper Folha showed.
In Rio de Janiero, police beefed up security outside the Maracana stadium for the final match between Brazil and world champion Spain in the Confederations Cup, a dry run for next year's World Cup. The two-week tournament has magnified demands for better public services as Brazil spends 30 billion reais ($14.6 billion) on stadiums and related projects ahead of the World Cup.
A march that at least 18,000 people signed up to attend on Facebook will be joined by a group taking aim at business magnate Eike Batista, who holds a minority stake in a group that was awarded a 35-year contract to operate Rio de Janiero's Maracana stadium.
"The game was rigged from the start, and we knew who was going to win" the auction, said protest organiser Renato Consentino. .
About 300 people demanding deeper cuts in public transportation tariffs occupied the government building in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minas Gerais state, according to images on Globo TV.
Eight out of 10 Brazilians said they support the protests, according to the Datafolha survey of 4717 people in 196 cities on June 27-28. Brazilians who say Ms Rousseff's management of the economy is good fell to 27 per cent, from 49 per cent, according to the poll.
Communications Minister Paulo Bernardo told Folha that Ms Rousseff is "calm" about her drop in popularity and the government will work to reverse the slide in approval ratings.
Bloomberg
