Brazil's President Michel Temer reacts during a meeting with political leaders at Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil December 5, 2016. REUTERS/Adriano Machado

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Disapproval of Brazilian President Michel Temer’s government spiked as the economy failed to rebound from its deepest slump in decades, according to a poll published by the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper on Sunday.

The Datafolha poll, conducted on Dec. 7 and 8, showed 51 percent of Brazilian rated Temer’s administration as “bad” or “terrible,” up from 31 percent in a July survey.

Only 10 percent of Brazilians rated his government “good” or “great,” while 34 percent considered it “regular.”

Temer took over after the ouster of former President Dilma Rousseff, pledging to return Brazil to growth by cutting spending and curbing debt growth.

But the economy plunged deeper into recession in the third quarter, dashing the government’s hopes that a rebound in corporate and consumer sentiment would bring about a recovery.

According to the poll, 41 percent of Brazilians expect the economy to deteriorate in the foreseeable future, 27 percent expect it to remain flat and 28 percent foresee an improvement.

The survey also showed 63 percent believe Temer should resign by Dec. 31, paving the way for new elections. Twenty seven percent said they were against that possibility.

The poll was conducted before local media reported a former director at engineering conglomerate Odebrecht SA told prosecutors the company made several illegal contributions to politicians from the ruling PMDB party including Temer.