MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan President's approval drops amid scandals

“The Astesiano case, with cumulative and persistent information over time, and the passport granted to [known drug trafficker Sebastián] Marset... ” would account for the drop

The approval ratings of Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou fell ten percentage points in two months, hitting an all-time low of 39% since he took office, according to a report from pollsters Equipos Consultores released Thursday.

“The opinions of Uruguayans on the performance of President Luis Lacalle Pou show in December a structure of divided judgments: 39% approve of his performance and 38% disapprove, while 22% have intermediate opinions and 1% have no opinion,” the study explained. The survey was carried out between Dec. 2 and 20 in a face-to-face modality.

The question asked was: Do you approve, neither approve nor disapprove, or disapprove of how Luis Lacalle Pou is performing as president?

Since the so-called Astesiano case broke out in October the president lost 10 approval points while his disapproval grew by 6%. Therefore, his net balance went from +17 to +1 at the end of the year.

“The Astesiano case, with cumulative and persistent information over time, and the passport granted to [known drug trafficker Sebastián] Marset... ” would account for the drop, according to Equipos.

Among leftwing voters, 74% do not approve of the administration, while 72% of those who define themselves politically as right-wing approved of Lacalle Pou's management of the country, while 37% of those who position themselves in the center of the political spectrum evaluated the president positively and 28% negatively.

The issuance of an Uruguayan passport led to the resignation of Deputy Foreign Minister Carolina Ache Batlle, while Alejandro Astesiano, who used to head Lacalle's security team, was involved in a controversial case regarding documents given to Russian nationals.

Lacalle was also reported to have ordered his estranged wife Lorena Ponce de León to be spied on.