New Poll Numbers: Morales Support back to 64%

Today's Los Tiempos has coverage of a new poll by the firm, "Equipos Mori Consultores Asociados, conducted in early February in five Bolivian cities: Cochabamba, El Alto, La Paz, Tarija and Santa Cruz. The poll shows President Evo Morales' support numbers up again, to 64% favorable and 32% unfavorable.

The poll also reports that 70% of those surveyed have a positive impression of the main government authorities in the country and feel that there is less corruption than before. The Constituent Assembly is the least popular part of the political system at the moment.

Bolivian polling, to be sure, is always a little suspect, especially because public opinion in rural areas (which appear to have been left out of this poll) is both different and commonly underrepresented. In the case of Morales that usually means that polling data that undercounts rural areas and over counts cities tends to undercount his political support. This has especially been the case in pre-election polls where Morales has been on the ballot.

If that is the case in this poll then Morales' support, while it varies significantly from region to region (91% support him in El Alto, 53% disapprove of him in Santa Cruz), is very high nationally. To put that support in perspective, President Bush's national support in the US is currently 29%, according to a March New York Times/CBS News poll.