(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in Chile support the performance of Sebastián Piñera, according to a poll by CERC. 54 per cent of respondents approve of the president’s work so far, while 33 per cent disapprove of it.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Most people in Chile support the performance of Sebastián Piñera, according to a poll by CERC. 54 per cent of respondents approve of the president’s work so far, while 33 per cent disapprove of it.
In January, Chileans voted in the second round of the presidential election. Opposition candidate Piñera of the centre-right Coalition for Change (CC) defeated former president Eduardo Frei of the governing centre-left Agreement of Parties for Democracy (CPD) with 51.61 per cent of the vote. In March, Piñera was sworn in as president.
The CPD had administered the Chilean government since the return of democracy after the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in March 1990. Michelle Bachelet—who became the first South American woman to be democratically elected as president in 2006—was ineligible for a consecutive term in office.
In June, Chile’s ambassador to Argentina Miguel Otero was forced to step down after making controversial remarks to the press. Otero praised the Pinochet dictatorship, saying that "most people did not suffer" under the regime, and adding that his rule was necessary for Chile.
Close to 3,000 dissidents died under Pinochet’s rule between 1973 and 1990. Thousands more disappeared, were tortured or forced to leave the country.
Otero later apologized publicly, saying, "To all those who suffered under whatever dictatorship, to all those whose human rights have been violated, I offer my sincere apologies as they are right to feel offended."
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of the performance of Sebastián Piñera as president?
|
Approve
|
54%
|
|
Disapprove
|
33%
|
Source: Centro de Estudios de la Realidad Contemporánea (CERC)
Methodology: Interviews with 1,500 Chilean adults, conducted from May 24 to Jun. 6, 2010. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
