Polls & Research
Archive Search
Bachelet Fails to Rebound in Chile
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Chilean president Michele Bachelet has maintained a stable level of popularity this year, according to a poll by Adimark Gfk. 42.3 per cent of respondents approve of the president’s performance.
Bachelet—a former defence minister—was elected in a January 2006 run-off as the candidate for the centre-left Agreement of Parties for Democracy (CPD) with 53.49 per cent of all cast ballots. She officially took over as president in March 2006.
Since taking office, Bachelet has faced massive protests staged by high school students complaining about the poor quality of public education, as well as street demonstrations in Santiago, the capital city, over the botched implementation of a new transportation program called Transantiago.
Chile has repeatedly faced difficulties with its energy supply. On Mar. 6, Bachelet said that a shortage of natural gas and a major drought affecting the country this summer might have to be dealt with by rationing electricity, declaring, "We don’t want rationing and we’re doing everything we can to avoid it, (but) it is a possibility. (....) The drought has worsened beyond what we expected".
The government has issued a state of emergency in 144 of the country’s 345 municipalities due to the drought. Chile imports all of its natural gas from Argentina.
Polling Data
Do you approve or disapprove of Michelle Bachelet’s performance as president?
|
Feb. 2008 |
Jan. 2008 |
Dec. 2007 |
|
|
Approve |
42.3% |
43.0% |
45.1% |
|
Disapprove |
39.4% |
38.6% |
39.2% |
Source: Adimark Gfk
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,026 Chilean adults, conducted from Feb. 5 to Feb. 29, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.