Brazil President's Approval Rating Hits Record Low

SÃ O PAULO—Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's approval rating dropped to a record low, poll results showed Sunday, amid the country's sluggish economic performance and corruption allegations involving the state-run energy company.

According to a survey by the Datafolha polling institute, 10% of respondents said the Rousseff administration was "excellent or good," compared with 13% in a poll published in April.

Meanwhile, around 65% of respondents said Ms. Rousseff's administration was "bad or terrible," up from 60% in the previous survey. That was the highest level since 1992, when President Fernando Collor de Mello received a 68% rating shortly before he was impeached.

Brazil's economy is expected to decline around 1.35%, while inflation is at nearly 9%, well above the central bank's tolerance band of 2.5% to 6.5%.

The poor economic conditions are raising fears among Brazilians who could lose their jobs. The poll showed 73% of Brazilians believe the unemployment rate will rise in the coming months.

The Petrobras investigation has also helped dent Ms. Rousseff's approval rating, though she hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing and has denied any involvement in the scandal.

On Friday, the federal police arrested top executives of construction companies Grupo Norberto Odebrecht and Construtora Andrade Gutierrez as part of a widening investigation into alleged price-fixing by contractors at Petrobras for billions of dollars in contracts.

Odebrecht officials have previously denied any involvement in the alleged scheme.

Andrade Gutierrez on Friday denied any involvement and said it was cooperating with the investigation.

Petrobras has said it is cooperating with the investigation.

Ms. Rousseff, of the Workers' Party, was elected to a second term in a tight contest in October 2014 against Social Democrat Aé cio Neves.

For the latest survey, Datafolha interviewed 2,840 voting-age Brazilians nationwide between June 17 and June 18. The poll's margin of error is two percentage points.

Write to Rogerio Jelmayer at [e-mail]

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