More than half of Ecuadorians don’t like the way that President Lenin Moreno is managing the government and even more don’t believe what he says.
President Lenin Moreno
In a national poll taken by Cedatos, 51.4 percent of respondents disapproved of Moreno’s handling of the presidency while 59.3 percent believe that he’s lying most of the time.
“It was unrealistic to expect him to keep the 77 percent approval rating he received in August 2017, just after he took office,” says Polibio Córdova, Cedatos president. “On the other hand, his fall in popularity has been dramatic and it is continuing.”
Córdova says a stagnant economy is the primary reason for the bad numbers. “Under-employment continues to plague the country and Moreno’s efforts to revitalize the economy have not shown significant results so far,” he says.
If Moreno’s poll numbers look bad, they’re even worse for Ecuador’s National Assembly which registers a dismal 35 percent approval.
The only government agency or function to register a high approval rating in the Cedatos and other recent polls, is the Citizens’ Participation and Social Control Council (CPCCS), which is operating on a temporary basis approved by voters in the February referendum.
According to Córdova, CPCCS’s popularity has been earned largely on the public’s rejection of former president Rafael Correa. “The primary work of CPCCS has been to dismantle programs established by Correa and fire officials from his administration,” he says. “Correa’s approval ratings are under 15 percent so he continues to be the political scapegoat of choice.”
