A poll released Thursday revealed that a majority of Colombians approve of the policy of their governors and mayors in Colombia’s principle cities and departments.
The poll tracked voter opinion of local policy over incumbents’ terms, showing increases and decreases in public sentiment in the lead-up to the October elections. All incumbents, except for suspended mayor Samuel Moreno, enjoy policy approval ratings above 50%.
The poll revealed that the policy of Francisco Jose Lourido, the governor of Valle del Cauca has experienced a significant rise in popularity, rising 12 percentage points to a 63% approval rating last month. The policy of the governor of Antioquia, Luis Alfredo Ramos, has declined in recent months.
Alonso Salazar, the mayor of Medellin experienced a slight increase in policy approval, almost reaching popularity levels of one year ago, with 66% of citizens surveyed expressing approval. The policy of Alejandro Char, the mayor of Barranquilla continues to do very well, dropping slightly to 91%.
Politicians who experienced significant drops in the aproval of their policy included Eduardo Rosa, governor of Atlantico whose policy has dropped seven points to 67%. The policy of Jorge Ivan Ospina, the mayor of Cali, remained constant at about 64%.
Clara Lopez, who replaced Samuel Moreno as mayor of Bogota, enjoyed a policy approval of 54% for her first month in office. Prior to his suspension in conjunction with a corruption investigation, Moreno’s policy polled at only 11%.
