As FARC peace deadline nears, Colombian leader’s approval falls

World Today

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is due at the White House in Washington Thursday. His visit comes as his government nears a peace agreement to end 50 years of armed conflict.

Some Colombians have doubts about the deal, according to one poll. Not only do they disapprove of how the peace process is being handled, but the president’s approval rating is going down according to this one poll.

CCTV America’s Michelle Begue reports from Bogota.

Nearly half of all Colombians believe there will be a peace deal between the FARC rebel group and the Colombian government. This was the finding in the first poll for 2016 conducted by the research firm, Datexco.

While Colombians believe peace is near, the same poll showed six out of every ten polled disapprove of how the Colombian government is carrying out the peace process.

The international community has voiced its support for the process, and President Juan Manuel Santos, but 71 percent of Colombians polled by Datexco said they didn’t agree with the way the president was dealing with the FARC guerrilla group.

As the March 23rd deadline to reach a peace deal approaches, the government may be short on time to change perceptions.