By Natalia Rueda 
President Gustavo Petro of Colombia has seen a notable rise in his disapproval rating over the last week, a new survey shows. According to an Opinometer poll of 700 people conducted between May 3 and 5, President Petro’s disapproval rating climbed to 61%, an increase of 9 percentage points from the 52% rating he had in the previous poll from April 25-28.
The survey also revealed that 31% of respondents said they liked the speeches Petro has made from the balcony of the Casa de Nariño, such as the one he gave on May 1 for the Labor Day marches. However, 58% said they did not like them. Additionally, 68% of those asked disagreed with Petro encouraging a revolution from the same location, with 20% in support.
The survey also asked respondents about the president’s second ministerial shakeup in which he removed 7 of the 18 ministers from his cabinet. 51% of those asked stated that they did not endorse the changes while 31% were in favor. The former Minister of Health, Carolina Corcho, who was responsible for the health reform that is being processed in Congress, was among those removed.
The data from the poll has a margin of error of 3.7% and a confidence level of 95%. It appears that despite some initial support, President Petro’s approval rating has been on a steady decline in recent weeks. With his policies and speeches becoming increasingly unpopular, it remains to be seen how President Petro will address the rising disapproval.