MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Dilma almost KO: 84.6% don't believe she can handle the economy and 62.8% want her impeached

The number of respondents who favor Rousseff's impeachment over a massive kickback scandal at Petrobras has risen to 62.8% from 59.7% four months ago.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's popularity slumped to a new low and support for her impeachment grew amid a deepening corruption scandal and a severe economic downturn, according to an opinion poll published on Tuesday.

 The CNT/MDA poll showed that her government's approval rating has fallen to 7.7% compared with 10.8% in a previous survey in March, while 70.9% rate her government negatively compared to 64.8% in March.

The number of respondents who favor Rousseff's impeachment over a massive kickback scandal at state-run oil company Petrobras has risen to 62.8% from 59.7% four months ago.

Preferred shares of Petrobras rose about 3 percent in early Tuesday trading after the poll came out. Many investors believe Rousseff's impeachment would lead to better management of the company.

Brazilians favoring impeachment want Rousseff ousted for corruption at Petrobras, which she chaired before becoming president in 2011. Many who favor her impeachment also cite alleged campaign finance irregularities and government accounting mismanagement during her first term, the poll said.

The survey showed that a vast majority of Brazilians - 84.6% - believe Rousseff is unable to handle the country's worst economic downturn in 25 years, with GDP expected to shrink 1.7% this year.

More than 50 politicians, mostly from Rousseff's governing coalition, are under investigation for kickbacks received from Brazil's top engineering and construction firms skimmed from overpriced contracts with Petrobras.

Rousseff is not being investigated but her opponents have stepped up demands for her impeachment, which would require proof that kickback money funded her election campaign. Rousseff and the Workers' Party say all campaign donations were legal.

The MDA poll, commissioned by the National Transport business lobby group CNT, surveyed 2,002 people between July 12 and 16. The margin of error was 2.2 percentage points.