President Ortega Below 30% in Nicaragua
Less than one third of people in Nicaragua have a positive view of their president’s performance, according to a poll by M&R. 27 per cent of respondents rate Daniel Ortega’s tenure as good or very good.

In November 2006, Ortega - a member of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) - won the presidential election with 37.99 per cent of all cast ballots. Presidential candidates in Nicaragua are not compelled to garner more than 50 per cent of the vote in order to win the election.

Ortega governed from 1985 to 1990, but was a losing candidate in the 1990, 1996 and 2001 ballots. In January, he was sworn in for a five-year term.

On Apr. 21, Ortega announced his government would seek a new loan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this year, adding, "Within five years, Nicaragua will be free from the fund."

The Nicaraguan president has criticized the IMF’s policies, which he says ignore the needs of poor people in Latin America. Ortega defended his decision to eventually terminate relations with the IMF, saying, "It is a blessing to be free of the fund, and for the fund it will be a relief to rid itself of a government that defends the interests of the poor."

Polling Data
How would you rate the performance of Daniel Ortega as president?

Good / Very Good  - 27.0%
Average / Bad / Very Bad  - 68.9%
No reply  - 3.2%

Source: M&R
Methodology: Interviews with 1,600 Nicaraguan adults, conducted from Apr. 11 to Apr. 14, 2007. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.