Approval of Chile’s president falls to 14% in the midst of dramatic Covid wave

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The approval of Chile’s president, right-wing Sebastián Piñera, fell to 14% in the midst of the worsening of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, which is the most significant drop in recent months and the lowest level since December 2020, a poll revealed Monday.

The Plaza Pública Cadem survey indicated that this is a drop of 6 percentage points with respect to the March mark, accompanied by a fall in the approval of the management of the pandemic crisis, which dropped 23 points in the last six weeks to 35%.

The index has been declining since February when presidential approval reached 24 %, encouraged by the rapid vaccination process, an achievement that gave Piñera a break after months of harsh questioning for the management of the first months of the pandemic and the protests of 2019.

However, after the summer vacations, the worsening of the pandemic with a second wave that has put the health system on the ropes has returned him to 14% approval and a 73% rejection rate, three points higher than a month ago, according to Cadem figures.

“Meanwhile, the fear of being infected (68%) increases, and the mass inoculation plan continues to develop smoothly, with 49% of the population vaccinated”, added the pollster.

Piñera, who came to power in March 2018 for a second non-consecutive term with an approval rating of over 50%, hit rock bottom after the wave of protests against inequality started in 2019 and registered his worst mark in February, with 9%, according to Cadem.

With more than 1 million infected and more than 20,000 dead, Chile is immersed in the second wave of contagions that has forced the authorities to shield the borders and postpone the constituent and municipal elections that were to be held this April 10 and 11 to May 15 and 16.

Also, 83 % of the population is in a total quarantine phase, which means that only essential activities can be carried out, and all businesses are closed except for basic necessities.

Simultaneously, the country is carrying out one of the fastest and most successful vaccination processes in the world, according to data from Oxford University, and since last February has inoculated 7.3 million people with one dose and nearly 4.6 million with two injections.

The Cadem survey results are based on interviews with 703 people in 182 communes of the country during April, with a sampling error estimated at ± 3.7 % considering maximum variance and 95 % confidence.