Public opinion and coronavirus - March 2020
Citizens across Latin America support social distancing. The approval ratings for presidents have been impacted differently.
Regional summary:
Wherever polling is available, Latin American citizens support tough measures to combat coronavirus.
For the moment, citizens who are critical of government policies on coronavirus want more action, not less, in spite of the difficult economic impacts that those actions have.
The reaction to the public health emergency has had different impacts on presidential approval. Vizcarra is up, AMLO is down, Bolsonaro remains polarizing.
The limited data available suggests citizens across the hemisphere believe the economic outlook has gotten worse in the past month.
Below are some brief comments and links to polls in various countries.
Peru - Vizcarra approval booms
President Martin Vizcarra’s approval rating rose to 87% in the local Ipsos poll as Peruvians widely approve of his swift and significant actions to halt the spread of coronavirus in the country. 95% of the country approves of the quarantine and curfew measures.
Chile - Piñera remains unpopular
Cadem’s weekly poll shows only 18% of the country approves of President Sebastian Piñera and 71% disapprove. While that is slightly better than his approval ratings earlier this year (it is up six points from the previous week), the numbers still show significant weakness. Only 43% of the public approves of Piñera’s response to coronavirus while 48% disapproves.
Those numbers come in spite of significant favor for the specific measures taken by the Piñera government. 81% of the public is in favor of postponing the constitutional referendum, a large movement in recent days that suggests the public, which widely favors the referendum for a new constitution, understands the gravity of the public health threat. Additionally, 90% approve of closing restaurants, bars and stores.
Argentina - Support for Fernandez’s anti-coronavirus policies extends his honeymoon
According to a poll by Analogias, 90% of Argentines agree with closing the borders and punishing those who violate the quarantine.
A poll from Gonzalez and Aragon shows similar levels of support for specific measures while adding that 63% approve of President Fernandez’s handling of the situation.
Opina Argentina’s poll of the capital area finds 61% support for Fernandez’s handling of coronavirus.
Brazil - Citizens remain divided on Bolsonaro
A Datafolha poll shows 35% are positive about Bolsonaro’s response to coronavirus contrasted with 33% who are negative and 26% who give an average rating.
The Folha article discussing the poll highlights the fact 55% support the efforts by the Minister of Health and many Brazilians are more supportive of the efforts by their local governor or mayor.
Mexico - AMLO’s approval rating dropping
An El Financiero poll in Mexico City shows about 90% of the population supports various social distancing measures. That is in spite of comments by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that have played down the threat of the virus.
The Mitofsky tracking poll shows AMLO with 51% approval, down 4.6% over the past month and down over six points on the year. Similarly, about half of Mexicans trust AMLO’s response to coronavirus and about half do not trust his government on this issue.
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