Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos‘ approval rating fell two percentage points from 72% to 70% this month, according to the latest Gallup poll.
According to the poll, 65% of people surveyed said they had a favorable opinion of the president while 24% were unfavorable.
In October 2010 Santos’ approval was at 82%, which dropped to 72% last month.
The recent decline in approval has been attributed to the president’s handling of this year’s devastating rainy season, unemployment, inflation, security infrastructure and the fight against poverty.
Santos’ performance in the fight against illegal armed groups, drug trafficking and corruption scored favorably in the poll along with his foreign policy, rural programs and assistance for children and seniors.
The most highly approved politician in Colombia according to the poll is the National Police Director General Oscar Naranjo at 73%, eight more points than the president.
Internationally, U.S. President Barack Obama is the most approved at 63% while the worst is Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez with a disapproval rating of 75%.
The Gallup survey was conducted by Caracol Radio between December 3 and 10 by interviewing 1,200 adults of different ages, gender and socio-economic status via telephone in the cities of Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Barranquilla and Bucaramanga. The poll had a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of 3%.