The Barometer of the Americas, the survey conducted by Vanderbilt University and the Latin American Public Opinion Project (Lapop), reveals declining confidence in President Danilo Medina’s administration. Medina is completing his second term in government. Sociologist Rosario Espinal presented the survey finds. Medina is rated at 46.5%, an all-time low for the two-term President. Sociologists say his popularity has declined for unfulfilled promises, nepotism and other factors that have affected his credibility.
According to the document “Political Culture of Democracy in the Dominican Republic in the Americas 2018/19: Feeling the Pulse of Democracy”, Medina is now the only politician to see his numbers decline. The survey showed that overall confidence in political parties in the country has been experiencing continuous decline and is now just at 28.4%.
Self-identification with a particular political party has varied dramatically since 2012. While in 2012, 63.4% responded that they belonged to a political party, the recent poll shows that just 36.2% now identify with a particular party.
Furthermore, confidence in the members of Congress is at 41%. Citizen trust that there will be fair elections is now at 37.2%.
Other findings are that in the region, the Dominican Republic has the third-highest perception of corruption. 58.5% of the population thinks that corruption is very generalized among public officials. 86% feel that half, more than half, or all of the politicians are involved in acts of corruption.
The poll looked into the state of crime and safety. Victimization has increased from 17% in 2010 to 25.5% in 2019. The most common type of crime is robbery. Nearly a third of Dominican said a lack of security is an issue.
The survey also showed a significant decline in the public’s identity with the Catholic religion. People identifying as Catholics fell from 67.8% in 2008 to just 49.2% in 2019. People identifying themselves as Evangelical Protestants increased from 12% in 2008 to 26% in 2019.
Attitudes toward abortion were surveyed. Most Dominicans (60.7%) favor abortion if the health of the mother is threatened or if the fetus was unviable or suffering from a genetic malformation. The Roman Catholic and Evangelical Protestant churches in the Dominican Republic have championed the present unrestricted law on abortion.
Curiously, confidence in the National Police showed an uptick from 2016, reaching 39.2%, even when this figure is one of the lowest in the region. Nevertheless, 61.9% feel that police are involved in criminal activities.
Dominicans understand the grass is greener abroad. Fully 40% of the responders indicated that they intend to migrate within the next three years either to work or to live in some other country.
Administrative Minister of the Presidency José Ramón Peralta countered that polls contracted by the government show Medina at over 60% popularity. In 2012, at the start of his first term, the same poll had rated Medina with 62.8%.
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25 November 2019