(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Fewer people in Chile are expressing support for Sebastián Piñera, according to a poll by Adimark Gfk. 46 per cent of respondents approve of their president’s performance, down six points since June.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Fewer people in Chile are expressing support for Sebastián Piñera, according to a poll by Adimark Gfk. 46 per cent of respondents approve of their president’s performance, down six points since June.
Piñera’s disapproval rating increased by six points and now stands at 40 per cent.
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.
On Aug. 5, 33 workers were trapped after the collapse of a gold and copper mine near the northern city of Copiapo. Rescue operations are still under way.
On Aug. 11, Piñera fired three top officials in connection with the incident, declaring, "We have called for a vast restructuring within the national service of geology and mining (Sernageomin), and for a team of experts to work with the mining minister to ensure this restructuring happens as soon as possible."
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of President Sebastián Piñera?
|
Jul. 2010
|
Jun. 2010
|
May 2010
|
Apr. 2010
|
|
|
Approve
|
46%
|
52%
|
53%
|
50%
|
|
Disapprove
|
40%
|
34%
|
30%
|
31%
|
|
Neither / Not sure
|
14%
|
14%
|
17%
|
19%
|
Source: Adimark Gfk
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,110 Chilean adults, conducted from Jul. 5 to Jul. 31, 2010. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
