Brazilian president's approval rate up to 52%

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's approval rate has reached 52 percent, up from 48 percent in September, according to a poll released Wednesday by consulting company Ibope.
The poll, commissioned by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), shows that 51 percent of those surveyed said they trusted the president, up from 45 percent in the previous poll.
Some 40 percent of respondents said her administration was doing a good or very good job, up from 38 percent in the previous poll, while 32 percent rated it regular, compared to 33 percent in the previous poll, and 27 percent said the government was doing a bad or very bad job, down from 28 percent in the previous poll.
Respondents selected social programs such as hunger alleviation as the strengths of Rousseff's government, while corruption and lack of spending on public health care were considered the weak points.
Rousseff, re-elected to a second four-year term in October, will conclude her first term on Dec. 31.
The poll, carried out on Dec. 5-8, surveyed 2,002 Brazilians in 1,421 towns across Brazil. It has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.