Sunday, May 11, 2014

Presidential Approval in Latin America

Nicolás Maduro's approval has slipped to 37%. This is certainly notable because it suggests he is not convincing Venezuelans that his strategy for dealing with the protests--or for the problems underlying the protests--is the right one.

Before jumping to conclusions, though, we should note that presidents are not universally popular in Latin America.

Peru's Ollanta Humala is at 25%. For years Peru has been a black hole for presidential approval.

Argentina's Cristina Fernández is at 25%.

Colombia's Juan Manuel Santos is at 46%.

Mexico's Enrique Peña Nieto is in the high 30 to mid-40s, depending on your poll.

Brazil's Dilma Rousseff is in better shape, at 51%.

Ecuador's Rafael Correa was at 65% in December. Correa has consistently been one of the most popular presidents in the region.

Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega is also at 65%.

The bottom line is that you can be unpopular and remain in office, and even resist the opposition. It's interesting to compare to 2008, which saw a similar type of spread.













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