Poll: Two-Thirds of Ticos Support CAFTA

NEARLY two thirds (64%) of Costa Ricans polled recently said they are in favor of the Central America Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States and slightly more than half (54%)

said they believe it will benefit the country.

Approximately one in five people surveyed believe CAFTA will be detrimental to the country (18%), and a similar number (18%) said deputies should reject it, according to a poll released last week by Unimer and the daily La Nación.

The new poll marks an increase in support for the free-trade pact, compared to September 2003. Since then, the number of CAFTA supporters has increased by 7%, while the number of opponents dropped by 7%.

Costa Ricans with a college education are more likely to support CAFTA than those without it. People under 30, people in the middle- and upper-income brackets and people living in the greater San José metropolitan area are also more likely to support CAFTA, according to the latest poll.

Nearly three quarters (73%) of those polled said they were informed about CAFTA, while the remaining 27% said they were uninformed.

The poll was conducted between Feb. 23 and March 3 and claims a margin of error of 2.6%.