Polls & Research
Archive Search
Avila Still Close to Funes in El Salvador
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Mauricio Funes of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) holds a slight advantage in El Salvador’s presidential race, according to a poll by LPG Datos published in La Prensa Gráfica. 32.2 per cent of respondents would vote for Funes in next year’s election, up three points since September.
Rodrigo Ávila of the governing conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) is a close second with 29.4 per cent, up 3.3 points in a month. Tomás Chévez of the National Conciliation Party (PCN) is a distant third with 0.8 per cent. More than a third of respondents remain undecided or would vote for other contenders.ARENA’s Antonio Saca, a media businessman, was elected in March 2004, garnering 57.73 per cent of the vote. ARENA candidates have won the last four presidential elections in the Central American country. Saca is ineligible for a consecutive term in office.
In September 2007, Funes became the FMLN’s presidential nominee. In March 2008, Ávila, a former National Police chief, won ARENA’s three-candidate internal nationwide primary.
The FMLN was once an umbrella armed group of left-wing revolutionaries fighting against the Salvadoran establishment. In the early 1990s, the FMLN was disbanded and became a legal political party.
On Oct. 21, Ávila discussed his economic policies, saying, "In a time of crisis, certain basic mechanisms can be utilized to prevent abuses. However, this does not entail that the government should control prices."
The next legislative election is scheduled for Jan. 18, 2009, with a presidential ballot following on Mar. 15.
Polling Data
Which of these candidates would you vote for in the next presidential election?
|
Oct. 2008 |
Sept. 2008 |
Jul. 2008 |
|
|
Mauricio Funes (FMLN) |
32.2% |
29.2% |
31.1% |
|
Rodrigo Ávila (ARENA) |
29.4% |
26.1% |
24.8% |
|
Tomás Chévez (PCN) |
0.8% |
1.9% |
-- |
|
Other / Undecided |
37.6% |
42.8% |
44.1% |
Source: LPG Datos / La Prensa Gráfica
Methodology: Interviews with 1,500 Salvadoran adults, conducted from Oct. 19 to Oct. 21, 2008. Margin of error is 2.6 per cent.