TLC Ratification
Decision Tight
Fewer Costa Rican adults
believe a pending
commerce treaty with the
United States, the
Dominican Republic and
other Central American
nations should be
ratified, according to a
poll by Demoscopia
published in the Spanish
language daily Al Día.
52.5 per cent of decided
voters would endorse the
Tratado de Libre
Comercio (TLC) -
Central American Free
Trade Agreement (CAFTA)
- in this Sunday’s
referendum, down two
points since late July.
Yet, according to a poll
by Unimer published in
La Nación (owners of the
Al Día), 50.6 per cent
of respondents would
vote in favour of the
Central American Free
Trade Agreement (CAFTA),
while 44.7 per cent
would vote against it.
In May 2004, Costa Rica,
El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras and Nicaragua
agreed to the CAFTA with
the U.S. 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.
Yesterday, Costa Rican
foreign trade minister
Marco Ruiz dismissed
calls for a
re-negotiation of the
CAFTA, saying, "It is
misleading to tell the
people that this is
possible. This has no
political viability.
(...) It would be
impossible for the U.S.
to agree to take
telecommunications and
rice out of the treaty."
Polling Data
Demoscopia / Al
Día
If the referendum on the
Tratado de Libre
Comercio (TLC) were held
today, how would you
vote?
(Decided Voters)
| |
Sept. 28 |
Jul. 28 |
|
Yes |
52.5% |
54.5% |
|
No |
47.5% |
45.5% |
Methodology:
Interviews to 911
decided voters in Costa
Rica, conducted from
Sept. 21 to Sept. 28,
2007. Margin of error is
3.5 per cent.
Unimer / La Nación
How would you vote on
the referendum to ratify
the Central American
Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)?
(Decided Voters)
|
|
Sept. 26
|
Sept. 18
|
Aug. 2007
|
|
Yes |
50.6%
|
49.1%
|
56% |
|
No |
44.7%
|
46.3%
|
36% |
|
No reply
|
4.7%
|
4.6%
|
8% |
Methodology:
Interviews with 1,069
Costa Rican adults,
conducted from Sept. 21
to Sept. 26, 2007.
Margin of error is 3.4
per cent. |
