Costa Rica President Rodrigo Chaves, who initially enjoyed a 70.10% approval rating for his performance just a month into his term in June 2022, has seen a significant decline in public perception.
According to the latest national survey conducted by the Development Observatory Research Center (CIOdD) at the University of Costa Rica (UCR), his “good or very good” rating has fallen to 39.97% in October 2023, one and a half years after taking office.
This sharp decline translates to an 18-percentage point increase in those who now rate his performance as “bad or very bad,” as highlighted in the study. Furthermore, his “fair” rating, which stood at 21.60% in June 2022, has risen to 33.18% in the most recent survey.
The study also reveals negative trends in other areas, such as economic policy, which has deteriorated from 51% approval in June of the previous year to just 18.7% in October of the current year. Similarly, the perception of fulfilling campaign promises has fallen from 70% to 40% over the same period.
The study also gauged public opinions on the likelihood of President Chaves completing his four-year term. The percentage of people who believe he will have a “bad administration” has risen from 4.3% to 18.2%, while those who expect a “good job” has decreased from 74.10% in June 2022 to 41.3% in October 2023. The group of people who think he will perform “regularly” saw an 8% decrease compared to the June 2023 measurement.
When it comes to decision-making, the survey found that the perception of poor management in citizen security ranked highest, at 20.6%. Notably, 85.4% of respondents believe that citizen security will deteriorate, rather than improve, in the next three months.
The report also indicated that various aspects of the government’s performance, such as addressing poverty, tax reduction, employment generation, and relations with the press, received low scores in public evaluation.
In terms of President Chaves’ personality traits, he received higher scores in leadership, independent decision-making, firmness in decision-making, and his ability to serve as president, all rounding to 7. Conversely, he received lower scores for humility, concern for the well-being of the impoverished, and fulfilling promises, each scoring a 6.
Carlos Murillo, Director of the CIOdD, noted that while the president’s popularity remains relatively high, it has been steadily declining. The most significant drop in approval is observed in the management of the Executive Branch.
“Public opinion believes that President Chaves is not performing well in economic and security matters, failing to address poverty and unfulfilled campaign promises,” he stated.
