President José Antonio Kast’s approval rating fell four points in a week to 29%. It is the first time it has dropped below 30% since he took office in March, according to Cadem’s Plaza Pública poll.
According to CNN Chile, disapproval also rose four points to 66%, his worst rating. Another 5% did not respond. The president’s net approval stands at -37 points. According to T13, the data were collected on Friday, October 23.
The decline coincides with two issues that dominated the agenda. The first was sentence reductions for 56 people convicted of sexual offenses against minors. The second was losses in the D and E funds run by AFPs (pension fund administrators). Respondents mentioned them as the week’s most important news stories, at 36% and 33%, respectively. T13 adds that the controversy also included sentence reductions for people convicted of human rights offenses.
Opposition to the measure is almost unanimous. Some 89% said they had heard about the government’s decision, and 92% said they disagreed with granting those benefits, regardless of the legal grounds cited. Only 3% supported it.
The trend began earlier. In March, at the start of his term, Kast recorded 57% approval and 34% disapproval. At the beginning of October, his approval stood at 34%, falling to 32% on October 9 and 30% on October 16. On October 20, it rebounded to 33% before the current decline.
By policy area, justice received the lowest rating, with 19% approval. Communications followed at 20%, and relations with Congress at 25%. The economy and employment registered 26%, seven points lower than in August.
The areas the government had handled best also declined. International relations fell from 43% to 33% compared with August, while crime and drug trafficking dropped from 37% to 33%. Housing, at 37%, and immigration, at 36%, received the highest ratings.
Among the week’s prominent figures and organizations, pension fund administrators led with 34% of mentions. Meteorologists followed with 14%, and Justice Minister Fernando Rabat with 13%.
The general mood also worsened. Some 63% believe Chile is heading in the wrong direction and 32% in the right direction. In addition, 64% say they are pessimistic about the country’s future, and 82% consider the economy stagnant or declining.
