Deadly clash with Indian protesters sends Peru leader’s approval rating down for 3rd month

Clash with Indians sends Peru leader’s rating down

LIMA, Peru — A poll in Peru says President Alan Garcia’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest level in 18 months, hurt by a June 5 clash between security forces and Amazonian Indian protesters that killed at least 33 people.

The firm Ipsos Support says only 21 percent of Peruvians surveyed approve of Garcia’s management, a drop of nine points since a poll in mid-May. Three-fourths of those polled disapproved of the president’s performance.

It is the third consecutive month Garcia’s rating has diminished, putting him at his lowest level since December 2008.

Published Sunday in the newspaper Commerce, the poll surveyed 1,000 people in 16 Peruvian cities during June 17-19. The firm says it has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.