The survey covered most of the national territory, except for the island of Rapa Nui, the Juan Fernandez archipelago and Antarctica, and included a sample of 1,482 adults residing in 127 communes.

The other urgent issues that, according to interviewees, require a prompt response are drug trafficking and the increase in the low pensions the majority of retirees are paid.

Health, education, corruption, migration and poverty are other problems mentioned in the CEP’s August-September poll, while inflation, human rights, environment and public transportation are at the bottom of the list.

Regarding the municipal and regional elections scheduled for October 26th and 27th, 54 percent have not yet decided whom to vote; 14 out of every 100 will vote for government candidates; 13 for the opposition and six will not participate in the elections.

When asked about their perception of the national economy, half of them rated it as bad or very bad, 40 percent said it was neither good nor bad and only 10 considered it good or very good.

As for the situation in a year’s time, 47 said it will remain the same, 31 expect a worsening and 20 expect an improvement.

The Investigative Police, universities, officers, the Armed Forces and radio stations are the institutions best evaluated by the population, while the pension system, Congress and political parties received the worst marks.

The Center for Public Studies is a private entity that declares itself to be non-profit and is dedicated to research and proposals with the goal of contributing to solve the country’s main problems.

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