Bukele’s popularity far exceeds other Latin American presidents: survey

Two surveys by the CID Gallup company released this week showed that the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, is the most popular political person in his country and also enjoys an approval rating of 86%, far removed from his counterparts in Latin America.

In two Twitter messages, CID Gallup said that the Most Popular Political Person and Performance of Latin American Presidents surveys were conducted by telephone from May 10 to 19 among 1,200 citizens of each country chosen as a sample.

Bukele’s tough policies against gangs in El Salvador have been criticized internationally by governments and human rights organizations, but they have broad support among the population, who believe they have reduced violence in one of the most insecure countries in the world.

With 86%, the approval of Bukele’s performance is 17% higher than the one who follows him in the survey, President Rodrigo Chaves, of Costa Rica, who obtained 69% approval. The third on the list is the president of the Dominican Republic Luis Abinader with 61%.

Interestingly, the most popular politician in Costa Rica is not Chaves, but Pilar Cisneros, a journalist and deputy to the Legislative Assembly who has been a TV news anchor.

It should be noted that fourth place (57%) among the presidents corresponds to Xiomara Castro, from Honduras, whose mandate, like Chaves in Costa Rica, began in the first half of this year.

The rest of the leaders do not reach 50% approval: Andrés Manuel López Obrador, from Mexico, obtained 39%; Daniel Ortega, from Nicaragua, 37%, while Iván Duque, from Colombia, and Guillermo Lazo, from Ecuador, share 26%.

The last four are Nicolás Maduro, from Venezuela, with 23%; Laurentino Cortizo, from Panama, with 21%; Leaving Giammattei, from Guatemala, with 19%, and finally Pedro Castillo, from Peru, with just 19%.

In the survey of the most popular political person in each country, cases such as that of Costa Rica are observed, and some cases correspond to figures or former presidents who have been prosecuted for corruption or other irregularities.

That is the case of former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli, who has been associated with a bribery scheme, and Ecuadorian Rafael Correa, who is subject to various accusations and is claimed by the justice of his country.

Not surprising, however, is the presence of Cristiana Chamorro in Nicaragua, imprisoned by the government of Daniel Ortega, but who maintains a popularity rating of 54% in the country, and of Gustavo Petro, the president-elect of Colombia, who will take office after beginning of August, with 50%.

It is worth highlighting the cases of López Obrador in Mexico, who despite his approval rating of 39% is also the main political figure in the nation, according to the survey, with 38%, and Keiko Fujimori in Peru, who surpasses the rest. of politicians with only 26% sympathy.

In Venezuela, neither President Nicolás Maduro nor opposition leader Juan Guaidó is the most popular political figure. The survey shows that this position is held by Rafael Lacava, governor of Carabobo state and member of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

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