President Pacheco Will Leave Office At An All Time Low
The approval numbers for president Abel Pacheco plummeted last month, according to a poll by Demoscopia published in the Spanish language daily Al Día.

53% of respondents rate the president’s performance as bad or very bad, up 21 points since August.  A Unimer poll published in the Spanish language daily newspaper La Nación showed the same result.

Pacheco - of the Partido Unidad Social Cristiana - was elected in a run-off in April 2002 with 58% of the vote. Costa Rican voters will choose Pacheco’s successor the first Sunday in February 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 Dominican Republic followed suit in August.

To date, Costa Rica remains the only country that has not ratified CAFTA. Pacheco had postponed debate on the trade deal until the Legislative Assembly approves a series of bills related to the country’s fiscal system.

Earlier this month, Pacheco submitted the CAFTA ratification bill to the Legislative Assembly, along with the fiscal plan he has been trying to get approved for more than three years. The legislative session could extend until Apr. 30, 2006. CAFTA was supposed to come into effect on Jan. 1, 2006.


Polling Data
How would you rate Abel Pacheco’s performance as president?

Source: Demoscopia / Al Día
Methodology: Interviews with 1,202 Costa Rican adults, conducted from Nov. 29 to Dec. 6, 2005. Margin of error is 2.8 per cent.