His support is narrowing, and the political terrain is shifting
En el ciclo perpetuo de la legitimidad política, los números de aprobación funcionan como mareas: revelan lo que la retórica no puede ocultar. Javier Milei, presidente argentino que llegó al poder prometiendo una ruptura radical con el pasado, ha descendido tres posiciones en el ranking regional de CB Global Data, ubicándose en el puesto 14 de 18 mandatarios latinoamericanos con apenas el 36,2% de imagen positiva. El dato no es solo una cifra: es el reflejo de una coalición que se estrecha y de un terreno político que se mueve bajo sus pies, mientras rivales internos ganan terreno y la polarización estructural limita su margen de acción.
- La caída de Milei de 42,3% a 36,2% de imagen positiva en un solo mes no es un tropiezo menor: llega cuando su respaldo doméstico ya muestra fracturas visibles.
- Patricia Bullrich lo supera en algunas encuestas locales y el gobernador Axel Kicillof acumula intención de voto, convirtiendo el declive regional en un síntoma de una erosión que ya opera desde adentro.
- La polarización estructural que rodea a Milei —con un rechazo duro que supera a su base de apoyo— reduce drásticamente su capacidad de maniobra política, independientemente de los logros de gestión.
- Mientras Bukele lidera la región con 70,1% y Sheinbaum lo sigue con 69,8%, Milei queda relegado al grupo de mandatarios que luchan por mantener la confianza pública, lejos ya del pelotón intermedio.
- El ranking de CB Global Data, construido sobre muestras de entre 2.001 y 2.701 personas por país, funciona como un espejo continental: lo que muestra sobre Argentina es que el proyecto Milei enfrenta su prueba de resistencia más exigente.
El ranking mensual de presidentes latinoamericanos elaborado por CB Global Data se ha convertido en un termómetro de la salud política regional. En la medición de abril, Javier Milei retrocedió tres posiciones y quedó en el puesto 14 entre 18 mandatarios, con una imagen positiva que cayó del 42,3% al 36,2% respecto al mes anterior.
El descenso no ocurre en el vacío. En Argentina, la coalición de Milei muestra señales de desgaste: Patricia Bullrich lo supera en algunas encuestas y el gobernador bonaerense Axel Kicillof registra avances en intención de voto. El declive regional parece ser tanto síntoma como amplificador de esa debilidad doméstica. Además, Milei carga con un patrón de polarización estructural —un rechazo duro que excede su base de apoyo— que acota su margen político más allá del tamaño de su respaldo.
La encuesta, realizada entre el 13 y el 18 de abril con muestras de entre 2.001 y 2.701 personas por país, ubica en la cima a El Salvador con Nayib Bukele (70,1%) y a México con Claudia Sheinbaum (69,8%). En el extremo opuesto, Perú registra el derrumbe más pronunciado: José María Balcázar cayó 7,3 puntos y quedó último con apenas 17,9%. Costa Rica's Rodrigo Chaves fue el que más creció en el mes, sumando 2,7 puntos porcentuales.
El dato sobre Milei no sorprende a quienes siguen la política argentina de cerca, pero el ranking continental le otorga una dimensión comparativa que resulta difícil de ignorar: el presidente ya no se encuentra entre los líderes de desempeño intermedio, sino entre quienes batallan por sostener la confianza de sus ciudadanos.
The monthly ranking of Latin American presidents, compiled by the polling firm CB Global Data, has become a barometer of regional political health. In April's measurement, Argentina's Javier Milei slipped three positions, landing at 14th place among eighteen leaders—a visible marker of the erosion that has already begun showing up in domestic Argentine polling.
Milei's support, measured as positive image, fell from 42.3 percent in March to 36.2 percent this month. The drop is not dramatic in isolation, but it arrives at a moment when his standing at home is already fractured. Within Argentina, rivals have begun to circle: Patricia Bullrich has outpaced him in some surveys, while Buenos Aires governor Axel Kicillof shows modest gains in voting intention. The regional decline appears to be both symptom and reinforcement of that domestic weakness.
CB Global Data, a consultancy that gained prominence five years ago by ranking provincial governors, now produces this monthly snapshot of presidential approval across the continent. The April survey, conducted between the 13th and 18th of the month, sampled between 2,001 and 2,701 respondents per country, with a margin of error ranging from 1.9 to 2.2 percent. The methodology is straightforward: each president's approval rating in their own country determines their position in the overall table.
At the top, El Salvador's Nayib Bukele commands the region with 70.1 percent approval. Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum follows at 69.8 percent, and Costa Rica's Rodrigo Chaves rounds out the top three at 59.5 percent. The bottom tier tells a starker story. Peru's José María Balcázar sits last with just 17.9 percent positive image—a collapse of 7.3 percentage points from the previous month. Venezuela's Delcy Rodríguez occupies second-to-last at 27.5 percent, and Panama's José Raúl Mulino holds 34.1 percent approval.
Chaves, notably, registered the largest month-to-month gain in the ranking, climbing 2.7 percentage points. Balcázar's plunge was the steepest fall. Milei's three-position drop places him squarely in what the data describes as the lower tier of regional leadership—no longer among the middle performers, but among those struggling to maintain public confidence.
When Milei's approval numbers are examined in detail, a familiar pattern emerges. Like former Argentine president Cristina Kirchner, Milei carries a substantial hard rejection rate that exceeds his core support base. This structural polarization means his political room to maneuver is constrained not just by the size of his backing, but by the intensity of opposition arrayed against him. The regional ranking, in other words, reflects a domestic reality that Argentine voters already know: the president's coalition is narrowing, and the political terrain is shifting beneath him.
Citações Notáveis
The three best-rated presidents are Nayib Bukele of El Salvador at 70.1%, Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico at 69.8%, and Rodrigo Chaves of Costa Rica at 59.5%— CB Global Data summary
Like Cristina Kirchner, Milei carries a substantial hard rejection rate that exceeds his core support base— Analysis in Clarín report
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does a regional ranking matter for an Argentine president? Isn't domestic polling what counts?
It matters because it signals something about momentum and narrative. When Milei was at 42 percent approval, he could claim to be riding a wave. Now at 36, and dropping three spots regionally, the story changes. Other leaders in the region are holding steady or gaining. That makes his decline visible, comparative, harder to spin.
So this is about optics more than substance?
Not entirely. The optics reflect real erosion. But yes, the regional ranking gives opposition figures—Bullrich, Kicillof—ammunition. They can point to it and say: even Latin America sees what's happening here.
What does the hard rejection number tell us?
That Milei has a ceiling. His supporters are locked in, but so are his opponents. He can't grow much without converting people who actively dislike him, and that's extremely difficult. It's the opposite of a president with room to expand.
Is there a way back up the ranking?
Technically yes. If his approval climbs back to 42 or higher, he moves up. But that requires either a genuine policy win or a shift in how people perceive his government. Right now, the trend is the other direction.
And the others at the bottom—Balcázar, Rodríguez—are they in similar structural positions?
Balcázar's collapse is steeper and more recent. Rodríguez in Venezuela operates in a different context entirely. But yes, all three are trapped by high rejection rates. The difference is Milei still has institutional power and a functioning economy to work with. That's his advantage, if he can use it.