Varela´s political strategies do not seem to work

President Juan Carlos Varela has failed to convince the population about his strategies to raise his levels of popularity. This became evident after the first poll of year 2017 by Dichter & Neira (D&N), in which the frustration and the little support that citizens experience is reflected.

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The President received a rate of acceptance of 37% by the respondents, against 60% by those polled that are against his management, which suggests that from February 2016 to January 2017, the President of the Republic, Juan Carlos Varela, has lost 9 points of acceptance.

Economist Maribel Gordón recommended that just as any responsible Government would, the current one should reassess its public policy aimed to make one which could positively respond to and meet the social demands from the population for transparency and the elimination of corruption.  

The poll also reflects an escalating degree of social demands for health, education, housing, transportation, access to water, environmental solutions and an increase in the cost of living.

In her consideration, the current management strategies have been based on information from the media.

Gordón recalled that Varela had promised that access to water would be available 24 hours a day 7 days a week and also that people would make a 58-dollar saving, money back into their pocket, as a result of the price control policy, although this has never come to reality.

"We had been promised that corruption, be it past or present, would not be tolerated and that is not true, because the scandals are consistent. Who belonging to this government has been detained?", she said.

Against this background, the economist considers that, indeed, the population continues to express its dissatisfaction, rejection, and demands for processes of real investigations, without false demagoguery.

Moreover, the teachers´ leader, Yadira Pino, said that this Government´s downward in the polls is due to the fact that at the beginning of its period they created many expectations, which have ended up empty.

She indicated that what the team of President Varela has mostly focused on is blaming other governments and has been characterized for a high degree of presidentialism.

Pino warns that there is stagnation in many social situations that have even worsened such as the educational, health and safety issues.

"Everyone here is involved in the issue of the corruption, but they have tried to cover up those people that are more directly involved with the current Government, justice must be equal for all, but it is very evident the existing deep influence from the President in the Attorney and the Supreme Court of Justice", she reaffirmed.   

On this selectivity, the leader create needed a reaction of the people to put a stop to this situation.

Raising popularity

Opponents to Varela´s Government have come to the conclusion that every time the Dichter & Neira surveys are published, cases of investigations against his adversaries come to light, which indicates that what is being pursued through these is to raise his popularity.

At the beginning of this year emerged the Odebrecht case, which has been linked to officials of the former Administration and the sons of the former President Ricardo Martinelli.  

In October something similar took place on October 12 when the arrest and preventive detention against the Chairman of the Board of Directors of NEXtv, Riccardo Francolini, took place and then shortly after this fact the survey was published.  

Luis Eduardo Camacho wrote on his Twitter account: "Varela thinks that Panamanians are idiots," in reference to the fact that they are trying to divert the attention towards the opposition businessmen, so that their contracts with Odebrecht would not be talked about.