In 2015, approval ratings for President Rousseff dropped to record lows due to a slowing economy, increasing unemployment, a weaker currency and rising inflation.[24] Upper-class Brazilians stated that Rousseff could not manage the Brazilian economy. They also said that she used class tensions to benefit her political campaign by stating that her political opponents were "enemies of the poor." The poor felt betrayed because she had passed policies to avoid an investment-grade downgrade, which ended up hurting lower-class Brazilians.[24]