With just over a year until the presidential election, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has reached his highest disapproval rating since taking office.
Colombia’s Petro faces highest disapproval rating a year before elections
Most Colombians keep disapproving Gustavo Petro’s government. The most recent poll published by the CELAG exposed negative results for the left-wing mandatary. According to the survey 57,2% of Colombians disapprove Petros’ presidency and corruption scandals keep playing a major roll-on Colombians perception when referring to the current government.
One of the questions the poll addressed was based on how Colombians perceive Petro’s honorability. Results showed 45,3% considered Petro a corrupt President versus 54,7% that considered Petro is not involved in corrupt causes.
The survey also took into consideration what Colombians thought about Petro accomplishing what he promised during campaign when he has 17 months left in office. 34,8% of Colombians consider he will not achieve his objectives, 46,8% considers he will achieve partially and only 15,6% consider Petro will achieve most promises made during his political campaign.
Beyond the results of national polls, the truth is Colombians keep worrying about the same political and social issues despite Petro promising a government of “change”. The complex reality of Colombia’s society, delicate political international balances and corruption scandals have stood in the way of Presidents to achieve their grand plans and Petro is no exception. His steps towards crafting a new Colombia have been hindered by armed conflict, violence, insecurity, and economic instability. At this point most Colombians fear what the political scenario will be for 2026, year of the general elections.
Invamer, another recognized institute providing research and advice on marketing and public opinion, also addressed Petro’s approval and disapproval most recent rating. According to the poll, the disapproval rating keeps rising for the President of Colombia. Last month 63% of Colombians disapproved Petro’s presidency meanwhile his favorability lowered in 2% from 34% to 32%. Invamer results indicate that an average of 6 out of 10 Colombians interviewed don’t approve that way Petro has led the country so far.
According to the survey, the city where the head of state has the highest disapproval rating is Bucaramanga, at 80 percent, while Cali is the city that most approves of the president’s administration, at 44 percent. In Medellin, 78% of respondents disapprove of the president’s administration, while in Bogota, disapproval stands at 63%.
Another interesting fact about Invamer’s most recent poll has to do with Petro’s disapproval amongst younger people in Colombia. Meanwhile the population between the range of 18-24 years old reach a 53%, amongst the population of 50 years and older rejections towards Petros administration reaches a high rate of 71%.
Socioeconomic status also plays a major role in the polls. According to Invamer 67% of the lower-class population in Colombia disapprove Petro, amongst the middle and high class Petro has an ever-higher rejection of 71%, this meaning sectors of higher income in the country tend to be more critic with the current President. Petro’s constitutional mandate will end on August 7, 2026, and only then will we see how much of his political agenda he has accomplished despite unfavorable polls.
For the Colombian left, the polls are a warning sign ahead of the elections, as President Gustavo Petro is not expected to run again. According to recent surveys, right-wing candidate Vicky Dávila, one of the country’s most influential journalists, is leading the race, with Gustavo Bolívar, a member of Petro’s administration, following closely.