A Gallup poll published Monday placed Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos’ approval rating at 64%, which is a significant drop from a CM& Noticias poll published two weeks earlier that placed the new leader at 84%.
A month after he left office former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe maintains an approval rating of 80%, however 52% of Colombians surveyed said they think Santos will do a better job than Uribe.
The Gallup poll found that the Colombian public’s biggest concern is security. 29% of those interviewed said they thought that security was Colombia’s biggest problem, compared to 17% a month ago. 62% said they thought security conditions were getting worse.
“The bomb that went off in Bogota, the problems with gangs in Medellin and the attack on police in Caqueta worsened that perception,” said Gallup President Jorge Londoño.
However according to the poll, 49% of Colombians think that in general conditions in the country are improving and 82% believe that the Santos’ administration is capable of defeating the left-wing rebels at war with the state.
Londoño said Santos’ popularity is affected by the fact that his leadership is seen as differing from that of Uribe. Santos was elected largely based on a platform of the continuance of Uribe’s policies.
In terms of foreign policy, Santos is seen as doing a better job than Uribe, according to the poll. 84% of respondents said they thought international relations were improving, compared to a figure half that number in July.
Several days after taking office Santos met with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in Santa Marta and restored ties severed late July by the Venezuelan leader over allegations by the Uribe administration that the neighbor country was harboring left wing guerrillas within its borders.
Uribe’s approval rating was at 69% a month after he took office in August 2002.