Ecuador: Correa has 62 percent approval rating prior to leaving office

TELESURTV.NET
The survey, conducted between April 22 and 24, found that Correa’s approval rating never fell below 50 percent.

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa is set to leave office on May 24 with a 62 percent approval rating, El Telegrafo reported on Thursday, citing new findings from a survey conducted by Public Opinion Ecuador.

The survey, conducted between April 22 and 24, found that Correa’s approval rating never fell below 50 percent. Approximately 2,270 people aged 16 and over were chosen randomly across the country for survey interviews.

Correa, who took office in 2007 representing the leftist Alianza Pais party, is considered to be one of Ecuador’s most popular presidents. In 2014, his approval rating peaked at 83 percent.

“It’s an interestingly high rating after so much time,” Public Opinion Ecuador Director Santiago Perez told El Telegrafo.

The study also found that there is greater support for Correa in rural, working-class areas while opposition to his administration is concentrated in urban, upper-class areas.

Correa’s strongest base, according to Public Opinion Ecuador, is centered along the country’s Pacific coast. This is the same area that overwhelming voted in favor of President-elect Lenin Moreno and Alianza Pais.

Moreover, 39.5 percent of Ecuadoreans said they fully support Moreno’s new government, with 39.3 percent saying they are waiting to see how the new administration acts and 15.8 percent saying they fully oppose Moreno.

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“They are going to wait, they want to see how Lenin Moreno acts in order to formulate a position on him,” Santiago added.

Since 2007, Correa’s Alianza Pais party has presided over Ecuador’s Citizens’ Revolution, a mass movement that has empowered workers, Afro-Indigenous groups and the LGBTI community.

His administration has not only doubled the country’s minimum wage. It has also lifted over one million people out of poverty, doubled spending on healthcare and education, established sources of clean energy and slashed unemployment to 4.3 percent as of last year.

Correa, a close ally of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, also strengthened relations with a number of Latin American countries throughout his tenure. Read Full Article