In spite of dozens of scandals including one that involved the killing of thousands of civilians, former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has always maintained a high approval rating in his country. Until now.
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According to several polls that had not been reported on by local media, the former president has lost the majority approval and is even suffering a higher disapproval rating than approval rating, according to one of the pollster.
According to Gallup Colombia, the former president’s disapproval rating exceeded his approval rating in June, the month Colombia went to the polls for a second presidential election round amid accusations Uribe’s candidate, Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, had been illegally spying on ongoing peace talks with rebel group FARC. The latest poll, that of August, shows Uribe enjoys as much approval as disapproval.
Uribe’s approval rating according to Gallup
According to Colombian pollster Cifras y Conceptos’ latest held in July, after Zuluaga’s defeat in the second round, Uribe’s approval rating hit an all-time low of 39% while 54% disapproved of their former head of state.
Cifras y Conceptos director Cesar Cabellera told political website La Silla Vacia that “the people are tired of him [Uribe]. He’s spent more or less two years in permanent opposition. Moreover, he is a senator now and senators generally register a negative” in approval.
Jorge Londoño of Gallup attributed the most recent drop in popularity to Zuluaga’s loss in the elections and the preceding scandals over his campaign illegally spying on ongoing peace talks with rebel group FARC.
Both Gallup and Cifras and Conceptos are due to release new poll results next month in which they expect to see the consequences of even more recent scandals involving the ex-president, who has been battered by the leftist opposition over his alleged ties to the Medellin cartel and paramilitary group AUC, and his alleged use of classified military information for his own political gain.
In spite of his impressive drop in popularity, the former president is still more popular than his predecessor Juan Manuel Santos.