An opinion poll carried out by Datafolha has shown an eight-point drop in approval for Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, the first major fall in popularity suffered by the president since taking office.

President Rousseff drops 8 points in a Datafolha opinion poll of over 3,750 Brazilians.

The proportion of people answering “good” or “excellent” slumped from 65% in March this year – the highest so far recorded for Rousseff – to 57% at the beginning of June.

Some 3,758 people from across Brazil took part in the survey, and the president fell in the estimation of every group – among both men and women and all areas of the country, age brackets, income levels and education backgrounds.

The biggest change in opinion was reflected among top-earners (24 points down), as well as those with further education (16 pts), from the President’s native South region (13 pts) and 25- to 34-year-olds (13 pts).

The survey also showed growing pessimism for the country’s economy, rising concern over inflation, and more people worrying about unemployment in the future.

However, despite the reported drop in popularity for Rousseff, whose popularity has at times even rivalled that of her much-admired predecessor, she remains favourite to win a second term in office at the presidential elections next year, with the results pointing to the president getting around 51 percent of the vote if it were held today.

President Rousseff’s close allies in government were quick to play down its significance, labelling it a “blip” and something that would be corrected when the economy was back on track.

However, those in opposition tried to capitalize on the results, particularly rival presidential candidate Aécio Neves (PSDB), who said the figures showed the current government’s “growing fragility due to various wrong decisions, especially on the economy.”

Read the full article in The Rio Times