MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Keiko Fujimori starts her term in Peru with 60% approval, Datum poll finds

The poll is the first national measurement since Fujimori took office on July 28, after winning the June 7 runoff by one of the narrowest margins in Peruvian electoral history

Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori has begun her five-year term with a 60% approval rating, against 24% disapproval and 16% who gave no opinion, according to a Datum Internacional survey published on Sunday by the newspaper El Comercio.

The poll is the first national measurement since Fujimori took office on July 28, after winning the June 7 runoff by one of the narrowest margins in Peruvian electoral history. The Fuerza Popular leader took 50.135% of valid votes, or 9,223,396 ballots, against 49.865% for Roberto Sánchez of Juntos por el Perú, who received 9,173,755. The gap was 49,641 votes.

Despite that result, approval exceeds disapproval in every macro-region. It stands at 66% in the north, 64% in Lima and Callao, 62% in the central region and 54% in the Amazon east. In the south, where she lost the election, approval reaches 44% against 39% disapproval. By age group, the strongest backing comes from those aged 18 to 24, at 71%.

Sixty-two percent of respondents said they feel optimistic about the country's future, while 32% said they were pessimistic. On her first address to the nation, 62% said they had seen, heard or read about it; among those, 84% rated it positively and 13% negatively.

Expectations of the new administration center on the economy. Seventy-one percent expect the government to boost private investment, 66% to create jobs and 65% to improve the economy. Sixty-two percent believe it will bring order to the country, 60% that it will reduce crime and 51% that it will reduce corruption.

Security drew the widest consensus. Eighty-seven percent said they agreed with the armed forces joining National Police duties and with soldiers patrolling the streets, a measure announced by Fujimori. Some 86% support the military leading citizen security in jurisdictions under a state of emergency, and 85% back its taking charge of security in prisons.

On the new bicameral Congress, installed on July 24 after 34 years of a single-chamber system, 47% anticipate a confrontational relationship with the executive and 44% expect dialogue. Fuerza Popular is the largest bloc, with 22 of 60 senators and 41 of 130 deputies, short of an absolute majority. Sixty-seven percent said Congress should grant the legislative powers the executive has announced it will request on El Niño prevention, citizen security, economic affairs and labor.

The survey covered 1,205 people nationwide between August 5 and 7, with a margin of error of 2.8% and a 95% confidence level.