Santiago de Chile, February 25 (RHC)-- The disapproval of Chilean President Sebastian Piñera's administration stands at 83 percent, an increase of five percentage points from the previous survey, according to the survey conducted by the consulting firm Cadem.
Similarly, the Chilean president's approval rating fell by one point to 12 percent from the last survey published on February 14th. The figure continues in a downward spiral since Piñera's approval was at 29 percent in October 2019, when social unrest began.
This poll published comes four months after the start of the demonstrations against the right-wing government, in which 56 percent of those polled said they were in favor of continuing the protests. The evaluation of the performance of Piñera's cabinet by those polled, rated Ministers Jaime Mañalich (Health) with 84 percent disapproval and Marcela Cubillos (Education) with 79 percent disapproval as the worst.
Finance Minister Ignacio Briones received the highest rating with 45 percent approval and 49 percent disapproval. According to updated figures released by the National Institute of Human Rights, after four months of protests in Chile against the neoliberal policies of Piñera's government, more than 3,700 people have been injured, and 951 complaints of torture and 195 for sexual violence have been filed
The organization reported that 2,122 people were injured by shots from different types of ammunition, with pellets being the most commonly used, causing 1,681 injuries.
Massive demonstrations against the Chilean government and the right-wing president began in Santiago on Oct. 14 due to a 30-cent increase in the subway fare. While this measure was revoked by Piñera, social unrest increased in magnitude as the Chileans began to question "30 years" of neoliberal policies, which have implied a systematic withdrawal of economic and social rights for millions of people.