Steady
Numbers for Arias
(Angus Reid Global
Monitor) - Óscar Arias
maintains an acceptable
level of public support
in Costa Rica, according
to a poll by CID-Gallup.
52 per cent of
respondents rate the
president’s performance
as good or very good,
down three points since
January.
Arias- a member of the
Partido Liberación
Nacional (PLN) - won the
February 2006
presidential election
with 40.92 per cent of
all cast ballots. Arias
headed the government
from 1986 to 1990, and
was able to run again
after the Costa Rican
Legislative Assembly
opted to bring back
presidential re-election
in 2003. He was sworn in
for the second time in
May 2006.
In May 2004, Costa Rica,
El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras and Nicaragua
agreed to the Central
American Free Trade
Agreement (CAFTA) with
the United States - the
deal is known as the
Tratado de Libre
Comercio or TLC in Costa
Rica.
The Dominican Republic
followed suit in August.
The agreement - which
would reduce or
eliminate taxes and
tariffs on imports -
must be approved by each
country’s legislative
branch. To date, Costa
Rica remains the only
country that has not
ratified the CAFTA.
On Apr. 13, Arias
announced that Costa
Ricans would be asked in
a referendum whether
they want the country to
ratify the CAFTA or not.
The plebiscite - which
can only be binding if
at least 40 per cent of
registered voters take
place - is scheduled for
Oct. 7.
On Jul. 26, Arias called
on all citizens to
support the deal,
saying, "I think it
would amount to a
collective suicide if
Costa Rica says ‘No’ to
the CAFTA. If it is not
approved, we will be the
only country in the
world that says ‘No’ to
a free trade treaty with
the United States. The
only one."
Polling Data
How would you rate the
performance of Óscar
Arias Sánchez as
president?
| |
Jul. 2007 |
Jan. 2007 |
Aug. 2006 |
|
Very good / Good |
52% |
55% |
44% |
|
Average |
25% |
26% |
28% |
|
Poor / Very Poor |
13% |
9% |
16% |
|
Not Sure |
10% |
10% |
12% |
Source: CID-Gallup
Methodology: Interviews
with 1,192 Costa Rican
adults, conducted from
Jul. 14 to Jul. 21,
2007. Margin of error is
2.8 per cent. |
