Only 17 percent of the population believe the economy will recover within the next year, according to the Hamilton-Hoy newspaper poll. Of those interviewed, 53 percent feel things will get worse. This is a considerable downturn from the general perception of August 2002, when 46 percent of voters expressed a pessimistic view of the economy to pollsters. Currently only 10 percent of Dominicans feel the Dominican Republic is headed in the right direction.
According to the results of the February 2003 poll, 72 percent of Dominicans do not approve of the way Hipolito Mejia is handling the economy. This represents the highest percentage against him since he has been in office and significantly more than the 61 percent in August 2002. 67 percent of Dominicans described the President?s work as negative, compared to 54 percent in August 2002.