By Mellyssa de Paiva
Staff Writer

Tensions have mounted in major Brazilian cities, and as the protesters take to the streets, a new MDA poll shows that 59.7 percent of respondents favor the impeachment of President Rousseff, and 68.9 percent think the president is responsible for “the corruption involving a massive kickback scheme at the oil giant Petrobras.”

The president’s popularity has fallen to a new low; 64.8 percent rate her government negatively, and only 10.8 percent see it as positive.

Less than three months into her second term as president, Rousseff has faced one of the many scandals in the nation’s history in regards to the oil giant Petrobras, a company which she championed.

Amongst rumors of misconduct, and massive financial impropriating, the president has very little to show for. With a sluggish economy weighing on the nation for the second consecutive corner, and what many believe to be the sure signs of an economic Armageddon, the violent public response seems rather appropriate.

Adriano Pires, a prominent energy consultant, blames the current crisis on the president’s arrogance in regards to the nationalization of the oil giant.

“Rousseff arrogantly claimed she got it all right when she was overseeing Petrobras, prioritizing oil over biofuels, encouraging the population to consume gasoline by keeping fuel prices low, but now the shock is here: she got it all wrong, and the entire country is paying for her failed energy policies,” Pires said.

And as rolling blackouts occur through the nation, there is very little that the president can do to appease the people.

President Rousseff was for a long period of time the nation’s darling, a hand-picked successor to her extremely popular predecessor president Lula. And while the protests and Brazilian criticism of her government have now waned, both in the press and amongst her opposition, the dreamed impeachment the populous is clamoring for is highly unlikely.

While the national flag reads: “Ordem e Progresso” (Order and Progress), very little of either is seen in the nation.