President Arias Gains
Momentum in Costa Rica
(Angus Reid Global
Monitor) - Costa Rican
president Óscar Arias
gained a significant
amount of public support
last month, according to
a poll by CID-Gallup. 60
per cent of respondents
think Arias has done a
good or very good job
leading the country, up
eight points since July.
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 1987, Arias was
awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize for his mediation
in a peace deal that
ended years of bloodshed
in Central America. Last
month, Costa Rican
voters ratified the
Central American Free
Trade Agreement (CAFTA)
in a nationwide
referendum.
On Oct. 25, Arias and
Chinese premier Wen
Jiabao agreed in Beijing
to bring bilateral
relations "to a higher
level." Arias, who
recently severed his
country’s long-standing
ties with Taiwan and
established diplomatic
relations with mainland
China, declared: "The
successful visit proved
to me once again that we
have made the right
decision. (...) Costa
Rica hopes and believes
China will realize
national reunification."
Polling Data
How would you rate the
performance of Óscar
Arias Sánchez as
president?
| |
Oct. 2007 |
Jul. 2007 |
Jan. 2007 |
|
Very good / Good |
60% |
52% |
55% |
|
Average |
14% |
25% |
26% |
|
Poor / Very Poor |
16% |
13% |
9% |
|
Not Sure |
10% |
10% |
10% |
Source: CID-Gallup
Methodology: Interviews
with 1,234 Costa Rican
adults, conducted from
Oct. 19 to Oct. 27,
2007. Margin of error is
2.8 per cent.
|
