Colombian President Alvaro Uribe can count on more support of
Ecuadorians than his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez, a poll
published Wednesday showed.
According to a Gallup poll held in Ecuador, the citizens of the country like the Colombian president better than the Venezuelan leader, despite their countries strain relations with Colombia and close ties with Venezuela.
“Uribe is more popular than Chavez … Chavez can count on the sympathy of 29% of the Ecuadorians, but Uribe has 37% and President [Rafael] Correa obtained 51% in the last week,” Cedatos-Gallup director Polivio Cordova told television network Teleamazonas.
The poll was held just after the UNASUR summit in Argentina where the three leaders were discussing the planned expansion of U.S. military personnel in Colombia.
The same poll was also held in Colombia and Venezuela.
In Colombia, Uribe is approved of by 69% of the interviewed, Correa only by 13% and Chavez by 14%.
In Venezuela, Chavez is only barely more popular than his Colombian counterpart. 48% of the Venezuelans said to approve of their leader, while 46% were positive about Uribe. Correa can count on the sympathy of 3% of the Venezuelans.