MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan president's approval slides after 3 years in office

The Astesiano case was crucial in Lacalle's vanishing popularity

Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou was shown to have a 43% approval three years into his term, according to a survey by pollsters Usina de Percepción Ciudadana published Tuesday in Montevideo.

However, that figure drops to 36% when people were asked whether the head of state had fulfilled his campaign promises, it was reported. Lacalle also had 39% of Uruguayans disapproving of his performance.

With 12% saying Lacalle Pou's government was “excellent” and 31% rating it as “good,” Lacalle also had 39% of Uruguayans disapproving of his performance, with 26% finding it “very bad” and 13% just “bad.”

Between the two major groups were 17% of interviewees, who found Lacalle's management “regular.”

The president's approval is stronger in the countryside reaching 51%, against 38% in Montevideo. Lacalle's presidency was also more appealing to people aged 60 or older (52%), while his disapproval hit 45% among those aged 45 to 59 years.

On a rating scale of 1 to 10, 21% of those interviewed gave the number 1, i.e., the worst score. On the other end of the spectrum, only 4% chose the number 10. In total, 42% of those surveyed rated the government's performance between 6 and 10, and 58% did so between 1 and 5. In this section, 49% found the government had not fulfilled its campaign promises, while 36% believed it had. The remaining 12% expressed indifference.

Regarding the “areas” in which the government has materialized “achievements”, 43% of those polled could not think of any achievement to ponder. Meanwhile, 26% valued certain economic advances, 11% the area of health, and 4% the area of education. Regarding “areas” in which the government has reaped “failures,” 29% mentioned security, 23% poverty and inequality, and 17% the economy while 10% could not think of any failures.

To the question “Does the government of Luis Lacalle Pou represent a positive or negative change for the country?”, 42% responded negatively and 38% positively.

The survey was carried out between Feb. 24 and 28, 2023 from 400 people aged over 18. The sample was selected based on gender and age strata, based on population projections from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). Responses were collected through automated question-and-answer protocols via Whatsapp and monitored through phone calls.

Meanwhile, a separate survey conducted from Feb. 15 to 24 by Opción Consultores showed 43% approved of the government's management (32% good; 11% very good), with 29% disapproval (16% bad; 13% very bad) and 27% finding the Lacalle administration “neither good nor bad.” Respondents were asked: “Taking into account all aspects, how do you evaluate the management of the national government headed by Luis Lacalle Pou?” After his first year in office, Lacalle had 60% approval.

The president's image was severely dented by the so-called Astesiano case, which found the head of state's chief bodyguard Alejandro Astesiano involved in acts of corruption of which Lacalle claims to have had no knowledge despite his closeness to the convicted former official. Security issues also played a key role in the president's waning aura.