Colombian Presidential Front-Runner Petro Sees Approval Rating Gain
Feb 17, 2022
Oscar Medina, Bloomberg News
(Bloomberg) -- Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro, who has pledged to end oil exploration, is gaining popularity three months ahead of the election, according to a new poll.
Petro has an approval rating of 42%, while his disapproval rating now stands at 40%, according to the most recent Invamer opinion poll, published by Blu Radio. That’s the first time in nearly four years that more Colombians have approved rather than disapproved of the controversial candidate.
A sitting senator and former mayor of Bogota, Petro has called for Colombia to shift its economic model away from oil and coal, which account for nearly half of the nation’s exports. Every major poll conducted in recent months has shown him with a wide lead ahead of the May 29 vote.
Petro is popular among poorer Colombians, with poverty levels and jobless rates still stuck above pre-pandemic levels, even after the economy grew at its fastest pace in more than a century last year. A surge in inflation is also making life harder for people on low incomes.
More:
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/colombian-presidential-front-runner-petro-sees-approval-rating-gain-1.1725122
