(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most Bolivians continue to express support for Evo Morales, according to a poll by Ipsos Apoyo, Opinión y Mercado. 55 per cent of respondents approve of the president’s performance, up one point since April.

Morales—an indigenous leader and former coca-leaf farmer—won the December 2005 presidential election as the candidate for the Movement to Socialism (MAS), with 53.7 per cent of the vote. He officially took over as Bolivia’s head of state in January 2006.

Morales’ tenure has been focused on "re-founding" Bolivia through a new constitution. In November 2007, a draft constitution was approved with the support of all pro-government National Constituent Assembly members. Opposition parties boycotted the vote. The proposed draft includes articles that allow for consecutive presidential re-election, the creation of 36 autonomous indigenous communities, and tighter government controls over private media outlets. The new charter has yet to be ratified in a national referendum.

On Jun. 16, Morales branded the proposed changes to immigration laws in the European Union (EU) as "draconian", and threatened to impose limits on European migration into Bolivia if the provisions are adopted. Morales said that most migrants in Europe "contribute to, rather than exploit, this [European] prosperity" and concluded: "I appeal to European leaders to drop this directive and instead outline a migration policy that respects human rights, and allows us to maintain the movement of people that helps both continents."

The proposed amendments would allow authorities to detain illegal immigrants for up to 18 months and ban them from entering into EU territory again for a period of five years.

Polling Data

Do you approve or disapprove of Evo Morales’ performance as president?

Source: Ipsos Apoyo, Opinión y Mercado
Methodology: Interviews with 1,000 Bolivian adults in La Paz, El Alto, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, conducted in May 2008. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.

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