Peruvian President Pedro Castillo maintains a minority percentage of support but of hardcore which, according to a survey published Saturday, endorses him despite the accusations of corruption against him.
Lima.- According to the monthly survey of the unofficial Institute of Peruvian Studies (IEP), the president maintains the figures of the previous consultation, with 25 percent approval and 65 percent disapproval.
The figures remain after 15 months of government in which the head of state is the subject of an opposition campaign of accusations and disqualification, with great media coverage, fueled by deficiencies and errors of the administration and intensified in recent weeks by the Complaint filed by the National Prosecutor, Patricia Benavides, against Castillo, for alleged corruption.
The opposition parliament, controlled by far-right forces and center allies and hell-bent on removing Castillo, increased its approval from 11 to 15 percent and his disapproval reached 78 percent, six points less than last month.
The percentage of approval for Castillo is greater than the 18 percent of his victory in the first electoral round in 2021 and the 26 percent achieved this month by the mayor-elect of Lima, Rafael López Aliaga, from the extreme right, which has its stronghold in the capital,
The IEP survey also indicates that 53 percent support the complaint by prosecutor Benavides and 39 percent disapprove, figures that are different from the almost unanimity in the media in favor of her.
On the other hand, 52 percent believe that Castillo is involved in corruption cases, while 29 percent think the opposite, and 19 percent do not know or do not respond.
Patricia Zárate, an IEP analyst, pointed out the support of 25 percent of the population for Castillo, despite what the media reports about the complaints against the president and, in part, the belief that the problem is Parliament, which does not allow him to govern.
She added that this sector of the population holds ideological positions of change, so its position will hardly change, while the majority that disapproves of Castillo’s performance also disapproves of Congress, an opposition stronghold that has less than half of Castillo’s approval.
Zárate added that in the opposition "there is no solid leadership that can arouse great citizen support" and recalled a survey from a few weeks ago asking who the respondents felt represented by, more than half answered that they were not represented by anyone and the following answers mentioned President Castillo and the radical populist Antauro Humala. "As long as the situation remains this way, it will be difficult to find a consensus not only to remove the president but also to define what would be done afterward," the analyst said. (PL)
