As Noboa’s popularity slides, pollster blames the government for not listening to the people

A new poll by Cedatos shows public approval of President Daniel Noboa has dropped more than 17% since his election in February of last year, from 57% to 39.4%. Other polls show similar results, although polls by Snap Public Opinion and the Center for Specialized Studies found support for the president at less than 30% in June.

President Daniel Noboa and Interior Minister John Reimberg during a recent police raid in Guayaquil.

In his comments on the poll results, Cedatos director Ángel Polibio Córdova said Noboa’s numbers have not yet fallen to “disastrous levels,” as did those for former presidents Lenin Moreno and Guillermo Lasso late in their terms. “The problem for Noboa and the current government is that there is a continuing downward trend with no indication that this will change in the near future,” Córdova says.

There are no areas of governance in which Noboa’s support is above 50%, according to poll results. “His top priority is the fight against organized crime but the majority of Ecuadorians have turned against his policies,” Córdova says. “Although murders have declined slightly this year, people in coastal cities say they feel no safter.”

Several security experts have pointed out that the reduction of murders is the result of consolidation of territory by the largest criminal gangs, not by government law enforcement actions, Córdova said.

He adds that repeated declarations of emergency have produced only limited results and citizens are complaining about the loss of rights. “The nighttime curfew in Quito two months ago was especially unpopular with businesses as well as with the general population, one reason it was not repeated in the most recent emergency,” he said.

Government doesn’t listen to the people
According to polling numbers, it is not just the national government that lacks public support. “Approval of most municipal and provincial governments is also low and tracks closely with that of Noboa’s government,” Córdova says. “The problem on all accounts is that those in office do not listen to the interests of the people.”

“If the government was listening it would hear about the people who wait four months for a doctor’s appointment and nine months for surgery in the public and Social Security health care systems,” Córdova said. “It would hear about the hardships families in the sierra face when they can’t get their vegetables to market or visit friends when highways go unrepaired. The people would talk about schools where the bathrooms don’t work and roofs are falling in. These are the issues that affect people’s everyday lives and there is a sense that the government doesn’t care.”

Córdova says there are a “very few” local governments that have programs to listen directly to citizen issues and complaints. “When they respond, these GADs build trust and support. This is an approach the president would be wise to adopt.”