A Penn, Schoen & Berland poll for El Siglo Newspaper says that only 41% of the 1,000 people polled in July are pleased with the performance of the government. This is a 26 point drop from the February results, when 67% said they were pleased with the government. The Mejia administration will be a year old in mid August. Answering to the question, “How satisfied are you with the work of President Mejia?” 47% said they were satisfied, down from 65% in February. 53% said they were unsatisfied, compared to 34% in February. 72% of those who voted for him said they were pleased with him. 28% said the contrary. When asked about the situation of the country, “Is it better or worse than a year ago?” 67% of those polled said worse, 24% better, and 10% the same. To the question, “In general, do you believe that things in the country are headed in the right or wrong direction?”, the response was 64% in the wrong direction (up from 41% in February), 31% in the right direction (down from 50% in February). The survey showed that 60% of those who voted for Mejia in 2000 would do so again, while 40% said they would vote for another candidate. To the question, “If the elections were held today, who would you vote for?” 31% of those polled said Hipolito Mejia, 28% Leonel Fernandez and 27% Joaquin Balaguer. The constitution rules that 50% of the vote is needed to win the presidency.
