THUMBS DOWN to government ads, UP for Martinelli

The majority of Panamanians are not happy with the money the government spends on advertising each month says a recent poll. although it seems to have helped the standing of President Martinelli.

According to  Quantix Panama, S.A., 67 percent of those asked said the money could be used in a better way.

A total of 31 percent said the spending was okay, while 2 percent didn't know or didn't respond.
The survey polled 1,221 people between June 14 and 17 and has a margin of error of 2.83 percent.
The Ministry of the Presidency has invested more than $20 million in advertising in the last four years.
Organizations such as Transparency International have warned about such spending despite the fact that there are no regulations limiting this kind of spending.
The most recent ad campaign has caused controversy because it was modeled after a smiliar advertisement in Ecuador and seeks to justify government spending on large-scale projects such as the Metro. It came under attack from human rights groups and Panama’s black community because it used a blind black man as the central figure.
Meanwhile, in spite of  widespread discontent  about the Metro Bus service , complainta about the judiciary and multiple scandals, President Ricardo Martinelli  got a thumbs up from 54% of people questioned in a survey. 47% thought he was doing a good job, 7%  thought he was doing a very good job, 39% thought he was doing  a bad job  and 6% said a very bad job. The survey  has a 2.8 margin of error.