Four Argentine Surveys Point the Same Way on the Economy
ARGENTINA · POLLING
Key Facts
- The headline 70% of Argentines say they are dissatisfied with the country’s general direction.
- The source Universidad de San Andrés, published 12 September 2026. Government approval in the same survey: 35%.
- The expectations Analogías finds 47.7% expect the economy to be worse in a year; D’Alessio Irol and Berensztein find 59%.
- The approval picture AtlasIntel for Bloomberg puts disapproval at 58% against approval of 38.1%.
- The contested claim That approval has stabilised is one analyst’s reading of his own tracker, not a consensus finding.
- The method gap The San Andrés September wave published no fieldwork dates or sample size.
Four surveys, four methodologies, one direction. The disagreement is about whether the government’s support has stopped falling or is still falling slowly.
Argentine polling published over the past week shows sharply negative expectations for the economy alongside government approval in the mid to high thirties, with the surveys disagreeing mainly about whether that approval has stopped declining.
The 70% Figure
The most quoted number comes from the Universidad de San Andrés political satisfaction survey, directed by Diego Reynoso and published on 12 September 2026: 70% dissatisfied with the country’s general direction against 30% satisfied, with government approval at 35%. An earlier wave of the same survey, with fieldwork from 5 to 11 August and a sample of 1,000, found 69% dissatisfied and an approval split of 35 to 61.
The September wave published neither fieldwork dates nor sample size in the coverage available, which is a methodological gap worth noting when the headline figure is being quoted as widely as this one.
Expectations Are the Weaker Part
Analogías, polling across 24 provinces with a sample of 2,932 in September, found 47.7% expecting the economy to be worse in a year and 60.9% saying they are worse off than a year ago. Milei’s image ran 58.1% negative against 36.9% positive.
The same survey found 51.4% fearing rising unemployment and 51.8% reporting rising family debt, which are the two indicators that historically move Argentine voting behaviour ahead of inflation.D’Alessio Irol and Berensztein, polling in August, found 59% expecting a worse economy in a year and 67% saying their personal situation had deteriorated, with 60% citing utility costs.
The Stabilisation Claim
Reynoso’s reading is that government approval has been flat for around four months after monthly declines from October 2025 to April 2026. That is his characterisation of his own tracker rather than a finding several pollsters share.
It sits awkwardly beside AtlasIntel’s survey for Bloomberg, with fieldwork from 30 August to 3 September and a sample of 2,193, which put disapproval at 58% against approval of 38.1%, and beside Analogías’ 58.1% negative image. The Rio Times attributes the stabilisation claim to Reynoso rather than stating it, because the other surveys in the field do not independently establish it.
What Voters Say Worries Them
AtlasIntel found corruption at 44.4% and unemployment at 43.9% as the leading concerns, with 49% expecting economic deterioration over six months. The prominence of corruption is the notable shift.
A government elected on an anti-establishment platform being marked down on corruption is a different problem from being marked down on the economy, and it is harder to fix with policy.
How to Use These Numbers
Argentine polling has a poor record close to elections and a better one on direction of travel. The consistent finding across four different houses, methodologies and field periods is negative expectations, and that is the part to rely on.
The disagreement about whether approval has bottomed is real and unresolved. It will be settled by the next two waves rather than by argument, and the budget negotiation now beginning in Congress is the event most likely to move it.
More: Argentina news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 70% figure?
The share saying they are dissatisfied with Argentina’s general direction, in the Universidad de San Andrés survey published 12 September 2026.
What is government approval?
35% in that survey. AtlasIntel put approval at 38.1% against 58% disapproval.
What do people expect from the economy?
47.7% expect it worse in a year according to Analogías; 59% according to D’Alessio Irol and Berensztein.
Has approval stabilised?
That is the reading of Diego Reynoso, who directs the San Andrés survey. Other pollsters in the field do not independently confirm it.
What worries voters most?
Corruption at 44.4% and unemployment at 43.9%, according to AtlasIntel.
Sources: Infobae, Cipolletti Digital, BAE Negocios, El Diario AR.
In depth
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error