09 June 2016•Update: 10 June 2016
By Senabri Silvestre
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic
The approval ratings of Brazil’s interim president have sunk to new lows as more than 50 percent of Brazilians demand fresh elections in the country, according to a new opinion poll.
Only 11.3 percent people surveyed viewed the management of interim President Michel Temer positively, the MDA poll, which was held at the request of the National Confederation of Transport union, said.
The results, released Wednesday, show that 46.6 percent said corruption in Temer’s government was similar to that of suspended President Dilma Rousseff, who currently faces a political trial for allegedly violating fiscal rules.
About Rousseff’s removal from office, 62.4 percent said the move was appropriate, while 50.3 percent called for new elections in the country.
Since assuming office last month, Temer’s government has been marred by multiple corruption scandals involving various members of his Cabinet.
The interim president himself is also under investigation and last week was barred from running in elections for eight years because of alleged fraud.
The country’s general prosecutor Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to arrest the Senate president and three other members of Temer’s ruling Brazilian Democratic Movement Party for allegedly interfering with the corruption probe.
Chief Prosecutor Rodrigo Janot requested that Renan Calheiros of the Upper House of Congress be detained along with former President Jose Sarney and Brazilian Planning Minister Romero Juca, who resigned last month for issues related to the same case.
The request included Eduardo Cuhna, former Lower House speaker, who was suspended at the beginning of May for corruption, obstruction of justice and abuse of power in the case linked to an investigation against state-run oil company Petrobras.
The survey also addressed employment, income, health, education and public security.
More than two-thirds of the respondents believe the government should generate more employment, 41.4 percent want improvement in the health sector and one-quarter want the economy to improve.
The MDA surveyed 2,002 people in 137 municipalities in Brazil between June 2 and June 5. The polls had a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.
