Peru’s Castillo’s approval drops seven points, according to a poll

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The approval of the President of Peru, Pedro Castillo, fell seven points in the last month. according to a survey by Ipsos Peru published this Sunday in the newspaper El Comercio. At the moment, he is celebrating his 100th day in office.

The poll indicated that the support to Castillo, who is harshly questioned by the political opposition and local media for his leftist tendency, decreased from 42% last October to 35% at present, while the disapproval of his administration increased by 9 points and went to 57% in the same period.

He added that the rejection of Castillo’s work reached 69% in Lima, a region that has been adverse to him since this year’s electoral campaign. In comparison, in the other areas of the country, it reached 50 %, an increase of 11 points compared to October.

When referring to the main mistake that citizens consider the president has committed, 40% stated that it has been “appointing incapable officials” in his administration.

Thirty-eight percent mentioned the appointment of legislator Guido Bellido as his first president of the Council of Ministers, and 32% said having appointed officials “linked” to the terrorist group Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path).

Bellido is a member of the Marxist party Peru Libre, with which Castillo participated in this year’s presidential elections. At the same time, the opposition and local media denounced several officials of the regime with the Movement for Amnesty and Fundamental Rights (Movadef), linked to Sendero.

Another 27% of those polled questioned Castillo’s statement that he would “nationalize” the Camisea natural gas field, the most important in the country, and 22% mentioned an alleged attempt to “politically control” the Armed Forces.

When referring to the President’s successes, 51% highlighted the decision to “continue and expand vaccination” against Covid-19, 42% the delivery of a bonus for vulnerable families, and 30% the proposal to “renegotiate and massify” the Camisea gas.

Another 21% highlighted the decision to keep economist Julio Velarde as President of the Central Reserve Bank (BCR) and 20% to continue public investment projects.

The survey also pointed out that 48% of the citizens disapprove of the performance of the Prime Minister, Mirtha Vásquez, in office since October 6, while 24% approved of her.

On the other hand, the work of the Minister of Health, Hernando Cevallos, was approved by 50% and disapproved by 31%. At the same time, that of the Minister of Economy, Pedro Francke, was rejected by 42% and approved by 35% of the citizens.

When referring to the work of the Congress, which is dominated by the political opposition, 61% disapproved its action, a rise of 3 points in relation to October, while the work of its President, María del Carmen Alva, was also rejected by 49% of the citizens, 7 points more than during the previous month.

Commenting on the survey results, the President of Ipsos Peru, Alfredo Torres, pointed out in El Comercio that after the first 100 days of government, “the tolerance of a sector of the citizenry for an inexperienced president has turned into disappointment.”

He remarked, however, that public opinion recognizes “some successes” which have in common their continuity with the policies of previous administrations, while the mistakes are “the result of his decisions”.

“If the government does not correct its course, towards a more professional management of the State, with honest and competent officials, who understand that the State is not to be used with a clientelist vision (…) it will continue losing popular support and undermining its legitimacy,” he concluded.

The survey was made to 1,205 people between November 11 and 12 and had a margin of error of 2.8% and a confidence level of 95%.