Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who also holds the rotating presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the fourth ministerial meeting of the China–CELAC Forum in Beijing. Credit: Shen Hong/Xinhua News/ContactoPhoto.
The approval rating of Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, rose in April, one month ahead of the elections, reaching its highest level in the past two years, according to a recent survey by the Latin American Strategic Center for Geopolitics (CELAG Data).
According to the poll, 47.4% of Colombians approve of the South American leader’s performance—the highest figure since May 2024 and nearly nine percentage points above September 2024, when 38.2% of Colombians said they supported the president’s management.
The CELAG Data survey, conducted in April through in-person interviews with 2,021 citizens, was published one month before the presidential elections in Colombia. The elections will determine whether the current progressive political project continues or whether the country returns to right-wing governments.
According to the survey, 51.7% of respondents rated the leftist president’s economic management positively, while 48.3% viewed it negatively. Regarding the government’s overall performance, 52.4% considered it positive and 47.6% negative, the survey data indicate.
Colombia will hold elections on May 31. The leading candidates in the polls include the representative of the Historic Pact, Iván Cepeda; Paloma Valencia Laserna from the Uribista Democratic Center party; and Abelardo de Espriella Otero from the far-right movement Defenders of the Homeland.
According to the CELAG Data survey, Iván Cepeda has a positive image rating of 48.3%, while 46.7% view him negatively and 1.6% do not know him. Paloma Valencia has a 41.4% positive image rating and 47.5% negative, while 5.2% said they do not know the candidate.
Among the three leading figures in the polls, far-right candidate De Espriella has the highest negative image rating, with 49.5% of respondents holding an unfavorable view of him while only 35.9% said they have a positive image of the presidential hopeful.
Translations: Orinoco Tribune
OT/CB/SL
Cameron Baillie is an award-winning journalist, editor, and researcher. He won and was shortlisted for awards across Britain and Ireland. He is Editor-in-Chief of New Sociological Perspectives graduate journal and Commissioning Editor at The Student Intifada newsletter. He spent the first half of 2025 living, working, and writing in Ecuador. He does news translation and proofreading work with The Orinoco Tribune.
