Almost two thirds of Brazilians favor the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff over a corruption scandal at state-run oil company Petrobras, but roughly as many doubt it would drive her from office, according to a poll released on Saturday.
The survey by polling firm Datafolha showed 63 percent of respondents support impeachment in light of the widening police investigation into a huge kickback scheme at Petroleo Brasileiro SA.
However, 64 percent said they did not expect the scandal would be enough to cut short Rousseff’s second term, which began in January.
Photo: AFP
Opposition parties have played down the prospects for impeachment, although they have lent support to protests against Rousseff, including a demonstration scheduled for today.
Rousseff herself is not under investigation in the still-expanding Petrobras probe. She has said she knew nothing about the bribery and price-fixing racket that allegedly cost the company billions of dollars while she was chairwoman from 2003 to 2010.
Brazilians remain skeptical of Rousseff’s account, according to the Datafolha poll. Of those surveyed, 57 percent said she knew about the graft and allowed it to happen. An additional 26 percent said she knew but could do nothing to stop it.
As the police investigation has gathered steam, implicating senior Petrobras executives, major engineering firms and elected officials, Brazilians have also expressed increasing concern about how corruption is holding their country back.
In the Datafolha poll, 22 percent of respondents said corruption was the biggest problem confronting Brazil, just behind the 23 percent who named the nation’s healthcare system. In a July survey, 14 percent of respondents said corruption, well behind the 38 percent who said healthcare.
The latest survey by Datafolha, one of the most respected pollsters in Brazil, confirmed the findings of polling firm MDA, which last month found that 60 percent of respondents favored Rousseff’s impeachment.
Testing a theoretical matchup for Brazil’s next presidential election, Datafolha found 33 percent of respondents would vote for opposition senator and former presidential candidate Aecio Neves, who lost narrowly to Rousseff in October last year.
Rousseff’s predecessor and political mentor, former Brazailian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was close behind at 29 percent, within the poll’s margin of error.
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