(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – A majority of people in Argentina have a negative opinion of their country’s president, according to a poll by Poliarquía Consultores. 53 per cent of respondents now view Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in a negative light, up 12 points since February.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – A majority of people in Argentina have a negative opinion of their country’s president, according to a poll by Poliarquía Consultores. 53 per cent of respondents now view Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in a negative light, up 12 points since February.
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 2008, the government faced weeks of massive protests by farmers angered by the introduction of a variable tax on soybean exports. Senators voted down the tax in July. The crisis prompted a cabinet re-shuffle.
Since Feb. 20, Argentina’s farmers have reduced the sale of grains and cattle while asking the government to lower export taxes and ease existing restrictions. They claim the industry has been damaged by a severe drought.
Last month, the government faced a new seven-day strike staged by farmers. On Aug. 26, Carlos Garetto, the spokes person for a liaison group representing Argentina’s four main organizations—with a membership estimated at almost 290,000 farmers—declared: "Let’s hope that the new protest limiting farm trading helps the government to reconsider and reflect about the decisions it has been adopting."
Polling Data
Do you have a positive or negative opinion of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner?
|
|
Aug. 2009
|
Feb. 2009
|
Nov. 2008
|
|
Positive
|
23%
|
29%
|
28%
|
|
Average
|
24%
|
30%
|
32%
|
|
Negative
|
53%
|
41%
|
39%
|
Source: Poliarquía Consultores
Methodology: Interviews with 1,000 Argentine adults, conducted in August 2009. Margin of error is 3.3 per cent.
