December 26, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Two-thirds of people in Peru welcome the free trade agreement that the South American country has signed with the United States, according to a poll by Ipsos, Apoyo, Opinión y Mercado published in El Comercio. 66 per cent of respondents support the commerce deal, while 25 per cent oppose it.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Two-thirds of people in Peru welcome the free trade agreement that the South American country has signed with the United States, according to a poll by Ipsos, Apoyo, Opinión y Mercado published in El Comercio. 66 per cent of respondents support the commerce deal, while 25 per cent oppose it.

In June 2006, Alan García—a member of the American Revolutionary People’s Alliance (APRA)—won Peru’s presidential election in a run-off against nationalist Ollanta Humala of the Union for Peru (UP). In July, García officially took over as president. He had previously served as Peru’s head of state from 1985 to 1990, when he oversaw a major economic crisis.

In April 2006, Peru and the United States agreed to the terms of the free trade agreement. In June 2006, Peru’s Congress of the Republic approved the document in a 79-14 vote. On Dec. 6, the United States Senate ratified the bilateral free trade agreement in a 77-18 vote.

Jim Hoffa, president of Teamsters—one of the largest labour unions in the U.S.—voiced dissatisfaction with the ratification of the commerce deal with Peru, saying, "Working men and women understand the damage done to them by these job-killing ‘free-trade agreements’. (...) These deals are less about reducing trade barriers than they are about exploiting cheap labour and protecting investments of multinational corporations. (...) Another so-called ‘free-trade agreement’ is just what we don’t need."

Polling Data

Do you support or oppose the free trade agreement between Peru and the United States?

Support	66%
Oppose	25%

Source: Ipsos, Apoyo, Opinión y Mercado / El Comercio
Methodology: Interviews with 1,007 Peruvian adults, conducted from Dec. 12 to Dec. 14, 2007. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.