(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Fewer Panamanians are satisfied with Martín Torrijos, according to a poll by Dichter & Neira released by TVN Noticias and Panamá América. 46.2 per cent of respondents rate the president’s performance as excellent or good, down 6.1 points since September.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Fewer Panamanians are satisfied with Martín Torrijos, according to a poll by Dichter & Neira released by TVN Noticias and Panamá América. 46.2 per cent of respondents rate the president’s performance as excellent or good, down 6.1 points since September.
Torrijos—the son of Omar Torrijos, an army general who ruled Panama from 1968 to 1981—won the May 2004 presidential election as a candidate for the Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD) with 47.44 per cent of the vote.
In 1999, Panama regained full control of the Panama Canal, the source of 10 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In October 2006, Panamanian voters supported the canal’s $5.25 billion U.S. expansion plan—which would add a parallel set of locks to allow giant cargo ships to pass through the waterway—in a nationwide referendum.
Yesterday, Panamanian commerce and industry minister Gisela Álvarez discussed the benefits of a proposed free trade agreement with Canada, saying, "Panama and Canada have a complementary economic structure. (…) Canada would be able to engage in trade with access to different geographic areas."
Polling Data
How would you rate the performance of Martín Torrijos as president?
|
|
Nov. 2008 |
Sept. 2008 |
Aug. 2008 |
|
Excellent / Good |
46.2% |
53.3% |
49.8% |
|
Bad / Very Bad |
49.7% |
42.0% |
45.3% |
Source: Dichter & Neira / TVN Noticias / Panamá América
Methodology: Interviews with 1,200 Panamanian adults, conducted from Nov. 14 to Nov. 16, 2008. Margin of error is 2.9 per cent.
