(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Argentinean president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has lost a great deal of popular support since the start of the year, according to a poll by Management & Fit. 23.6 per cent of respondents approve of Ms. Kirchner, down 27.9 points since January.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Argentinean president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has lost a great deal of popular support since the start of the year, according to a poll by Management & Fit. 23.6 per cent of respondents approve of Ms. Kirchner, down 27.9 points since January.
In October 2007, Fernández de Kirchner won the presidential election with 44.9 per cent of the vote as the candidate for the Front for Victory (FV). In December, Mrs. Kirchner succeeded her husband, Néstor Kirchner, as Argentina’s head of state. The outgoing president was praised for fostering an economic recovery after a major crisis in 2002. Fernández de Kirchner has vowed to address poverty and carry on with her husband’s fiscal policies.
In March, the Kirchner government introduced a variable tax on soybean exports, prompting an angry reaction by the country’s farmers. The levy replaced a fixed-rate tax, and increased the price of soybeans. Farmers staged protests and organized roadblocks for more than three weeks. Grain shipments stopped completely, creating food shortages across the country. On Apr. 2, the unions agreed to stop the rallies in order to negotiate with the government.
On May 7, talks between the unions and the government broke off. Union leader Mario Llambias said Argentina’s four major farming groups would halt all cereal exports in Argentina for one week and block the country’s main roads. Kirchner’s chief of staff Alberto Fernández had previously issued a public warning, saying, "If you go on strike, you’ll have to deal with the consequences."
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s performance as president?
|
Apr. 2008 |
Jan. 2008 |
|
|
Approve |
23.6% |
51.5% |
|
Disapprove |
61.8% |
32.3% |
Source: Management & Fit
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews to 2,100 Argentine adults, conducted from Apr. 27 to Apr. 30, 2008. No margin of error was provided.
