(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The tenure of Paraguayan president Nicanor Duarte has received a dreadful review this month, according to a poll by Ati Snead published in La Nación. Only five per cent of respondents think Duarte has done a good or very good job, while 71.9 per cent deem it bad or very bad.

Duarte won the April 2003 election as a candidate for the National Republican Association - Red Party (ANR) with 37.1 per cent of all cast ballots. The ANR has been involved in Paraguay’s government since 1947, even during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner. Duarte is not eligible for a new term.

Following his victory, Duarte pledged to end corruption and help improve the lives of Paraguay’s population. The country remains one of the most corrupt and poor in South America.

The next presidential election is scheduled for Apr. 20. Some ANR members have called for retooling the ticket of Blanca Ovelar and Carlos María Santacruz—who currently trail former bishop Fernando Lugo and running mate Federico Franco of the Patriotic Alliance for Change (APC) in voting intention polls—to have a better shot at winning the ballot.

On Mar. 12, Duarte adamantly refused such calls, saying that "individualistic" interests are second to the party’s interests, and declaring, "They say we must think of leadership, but let them go to hell. (...) What matters now is that we all take care of the party and swallow our own vomit."

Polling Data

How would you rate the performance of Nicanor Duarte as president?

Source: Ati Snead / La Nación
Methodology: Interviews with 1,500 Paraguayan adults, conducted in March 2008. Margin of error is 2.9 per cent.

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