Dominican President Luis Abinader placed fifth among Latin American heads of state in September in terms of citizen approval, with a 50.8% positive image rating, according to the latest survey by polling firm CB Global Data.
Abinader also posted the largest gain of any leader in the region compared with the August measurement, rising 2.7 percentage points from 48.1%. His negative rating stood at 43.8%.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum topped the regional ranking with 69% approval and 28.3% disapproval, up 2.5 points from the 66.5% she recorded in August. Sheinbaum took office in October 2024 as Mexico's first female president and leads the Morena party founded by her predecessor, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
El Salvador's Nayib Bukele came second with 66.2% favorability and 29.9% negative opinion. Bukele, in office since 2019 and known for a sweeping crackdown on gang violence, still holds one of the highest approval levels in the region despite losing 2.5 points from the previous month.
Middle of the ranking
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella took third place with 53.6% approval and 41.6% negative perception. Peru's Keiko Fujimori followed in fourth with 52.4% favorable opinion and 45.1% disapproval.
Behind Abinader in fifth came Costa Rican President Laura Fernandez with 49.7% approval, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with 48.5%, Ecuador's Daniel Noboa with 47.4%, Paraguay's Santiago Pena with 45.5%, and Honduras's Nasry Asfura with 43.2%.
Lula lost 3.4 percentage points compared with August. Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast, in eleventh place with 42.9%, fell 4.8 points over the same period.
Bolivia posts the steepest drop
The sharpest decline belonged to Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, whose approval fell 8.9 points, from 50.5% in August to 41.6% in September. Bolivia remains under a state of exception decreed to lift road blockades and contain actions the government considers destabilizing.
Further down the table, Uruguay's Yamandu Orsi registered 37.7% approval, Argentina's Javier Milei 35.5%, Nicaraguan co-president Daniel Ortega 33.9%, and Panama's Jose Raul Mulino 32.1%.
Delcy Rodriguez and Arevalo close out the list
Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, ranked second to last with 28.8% favorable opinion. Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo finished last, with 28.2% positive image and 67.3% disapproval.
The survey was carried out between September 7 and 11, 2026, among adult citizens in 18 Latin American countries. Sample sizes ranged from 3,225 to 4,271 people per country, with an average margin of error of between plus or minus 1.5% and 1.7% and a 95% confidence level.
