LPG Datos indicates Saca will leave with a high rating

Angus Reid Global Monitor published an article that says current Salvadoran President Antonio Saca will finish his term with a favorable rating. LPG Datos conducted a poll that showed Saca’s performance rating is 6.2 on a scale of one to ten.

La Prensa Grafica has a running discussion about these results. One reader was skeptical of the validity of the results, because of his party's (ARENA) recent loss in the presidential election due in large part to party's poor management.

Another said of the poll: “Credible…in spite of the tireless attempts of the communists in an insatiable campaign to discredit ARENA, it [ARENA] has given us good governments. The most important thing is that they know what they are doing; there are not hidden agendas, the people know it and hope that they continue having an open book like that. Saca has done a good job with the compatriots in the United States, applying and promoting the re-inscription of the TPS*…”

A third person noted it was a very high grade, possibly because of the method used. He said he would not give President Saca a higher note than President Bush, and that renewing the TPS was out of US self-interest, not because anyone promoted it.

The final commenter, responding to an earlier comment said that “it is not a campaign to discredit ARENA but the truth, because we have only had corrupt and degenerate governments; yes it can be said that we have more compatriots but they have gone because of unemployment and the high cost of life of living and the violence that has always been maintained…”

*TPS - Temporary Protected Status. TPS is a temporary immigration status granted to eligible legal immigrants of designated countries. During the period for which a country has been designated for TPS, TPS beneficiaries may remain in the United States and may obtain work authorization. El Salvador has been awarded this designation of TPS since March 2001. TPS has been politicized in Salvadoran electoral campaigns by some conservative politicians. In September 2008, Salvadoran Foreign Affairs Minister Marisol Argueta claimed that the US would rescind El Salvador's TPS if the FMLN won.

-Leslie O'Bray, SHARE Grassroots Education and Advocacy Intern