VZCZCXYZ0021
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSN #0210/01 0711450
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 121450Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0806
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SAN SALVADOR 000210 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/09/2019 
TAGS: PGOV KPLS KDEM ES
SUBJECT: POLLS VARY WIDELY BUT MOST SHOW SLIGHT LEAD FOR 
FMLN 
 
Classified By: Robert I. Blau, Charge d'Affaires, for reasons 1.4 (b) 
and (d) 
 
 ¶1.  (C) Summary:  The majority of polls released before the 
15-day ban on poll publication prior to the March 15 election 
show (left-wing) Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front 
(FMLN) presidential candidate Mauricio Funes leading 
(conservative, pro-U.S.) Nationalist Republican Alliance 
(ARENA) candidate Rodrigo Avila in a close race.  Polls 
conducted in El Salvador are of varying quality and 
methodological soundness, and some firms have political 
affiliations that may influence their results.  Poloffs met 
four polling firms and observed methodological differences 
and some unsound practices.  The firms gave varied 
explanations for the failure of many polling firms to predict 
the outcome of San Salvador's January 18 municipal race, but 
the number of voters bused in from outside San Salvador, 
mentioned by several firms, may have been a factor.  End 
Summary. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
MOST POLLS SHOW FUNES WITH NARROW LEAD 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (C) Media outlets released a flurry of polls before El 
Salvador entered the 15-day period prior to the March 15 
presidential election, during which, by law, polls cannot be 
published.  Most data show FMLN presidential candidate 
Mauricio Funes slightly ahead in a close race.  The majority 
of the polls reveal a narrow gap between the two candidates, 
and several show a statistical tie (the percentage point 
difference between the candidates is smaller than the margin 
of error).  Two polls indicate that ARENA presidential 
candidate Rodrigo Avila is ahead, and a few outliers show 
Funes maintaining a double-digit lead over Avila.  A sizeable 
amount of the electorate (approximately 12 to 20 percent) 
remains undecided; the withdrawal of the (center-right) 
Christian Democratic Party (PDC) and the (right-wing, 
opportunistic) National Conciliation Party (PCN) from the 
race appears to have given ARENA a moderate boost. 
 
Firm        Dates    ARENA  FMLN   Diff. Margin of 
                                         Error 
Borge       2/16-22  40.9   40.0   0.9   2.8 (stat. tie) 
CID-Gallup  2/28-3/2 38.3   43.6   5.3   3.0 
                            ---- 
CIOPS       2/20-22  48.9   50.5   1.6   2.8 
                                         (stat.tie) 
 
COP         2/11-15  29.6   37.5   7.9   2.0-2.5 
                            ---- 
CS-Sondea   2/5-13   30.1   41.3  11.2   unknown 
                            ---- 
Jabes       2/20-23  42.5   39.0   3.5   2.5 
                     ---- 
LPG Datos   2/20-23  28.0   30.9   2.9   2.2 
                            ---- 
Meba        2/20-22  41.5   44.5   3.0   2.9 
                            ---- 
Mitofsky    Feb      40.1   40.8   0.7   unkn (stat. tie) 
UCA-IUDOP   2/1-15   31.7   49.3  17.6   1.95 
                            ---- 
Vox-Latina  2/8-13   28.5   48.6  20.1   3.7 
                            ---- 
Note:  Leads outside of the margin of error are underlined. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
POLLS' RELIABILITY AND METHODOLOGY DIFFER 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) The reliability and methodology used by the firms 
conducting polls in El Salvador varies widely, which poloffs 
confirmed when meeting with three universities and a 
newspaper that conduct polls.  The wide variation in the 
polls for the March 15 election can be largely explained by 
differences in methodology and by the dates spanned by the 
polling.  Meetings with La Prensa Grafica's LPG Datos, 
Francisco Gavidia's Center of Public Opinion (COP), the 
Technological University's Center of Public Opinion of the 
Salvadoran Population (CIOPS), and the Central American 
University's Institute of Public Opinion (IUDOP) revealed 
that polling firms construct their samples differently, use 
different wording and order in their questions, and employ 
different methods (some of which did not appear to be 
statistically sound) to reach out to respondents.  In 
addition, the date of polls conducted in February is 
important; polls conducted following the withdrawal of the 
PDC and PCN and the decisions of the leaders of these parties 
to endorse ARENA show a modest increase in Avila's numbers. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
POLLING FIRMS' REPUTATIONS AND AFFILIATIONS VARY 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶4.  (C) Many of the firms operating in El Salvador are 
contracted by newspapers, universities, and the political 
parties, which affects how their results are presented and, 
potentially, the firms' independence.  For example, both 
presidential candidates claim that their internal polls show 
them ahead.  CS-Sondea, which shows a double-digit lead for 
Funes, is owned by a consultant of Funes', and conducts polls 
for the candidate.  Vox Latina, which also shows a 
double-digit Funes lead, is a Guatemalan firm contracted by 
the FMLN.  Mitofsky, which shows a tie, works with 
Telecorporacion Salvadorena (TCS), a right-leaning entity. 
Borge and Asociados, which has a poor reputation regionally, 
and Jabes Market Research conducted their recent polls 
showing Avila slightly up on behalf of (right-wing) newspaper 
El Diario de Hoy.  Double-digit leads for Funes in the 
university polls may be the result of poor methodology and, 
possibly, left-leaning slant.  On the other hand, CID-Gallup, 
which shows Funes up by five points, is a prestigious and 
reputable polling firm in Latin America.  CID-Gallup released 
poll numbers prior to El Salvador's 2004 presidential 
elections that were very close to the actual electoral 
results. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
LPG DATOS' CANDID TAKE ON DIFFERENCES IN POLLS 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶5.  (C) Edwin Segura of LPG Datos, which appeared to be the 
most competent and responsible polling firm out of the four, 
was frank about the difficulties in carrying out polls in El 
Salvador and explained common methodological discrepancies. 
Segura said that the poor can be difficult to access because 
they live in dangerous areas, while the well-off are also 
hard to access because they live in walled-off residences. 
He lamented the difficulty in getting accurate demographic 
data in El Salvador to use for building polling samples and 
asserted that Salvadoran institutions often release incorrect 
statistics.  Segura pointed out that several polling firms 
are not working from the most recent 2007 census, and that 
the firms use different rural-to-urban and male-to-female 
proportions in their samples.  For example, he said that 
Borge and Mitofsky use the 1992 census proportion of 
rural-to-urban populations for their samples, while others 
use the 2007 census figures, and LPG Datos uses its own 
adjustment to the rural-to-urban proportion from the 2007 
census.  Differences in rural-to-urban and male-to-female 
proportions could cause the results to favor one party over 
the other; according to some pollsters, ARENA draws support 
from the rural poor and housewives, while FMLN voters tend to 
be urban and male. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
POLLING FIRMS DESCRIBE QUESTIONABLE PRACTICES 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) All of the firms admitted to some practices that 
appeared methodologically unsound during the meetings, but 
the universities accounted for the worst practices. 
Francisco Armando Zepeda of CIOPS explained that the firm 
attempted to reach wealthy voters by conducting polls at 
places frequented by the well-off like commercial centers, 
supermarkets, and gas stations; this method of sampling is 
not random nor an accurate measure of income level.  Zepeda 
also described how if his workers came to a house displaying 
party propaganda that they would throw it out of the sample, 
again creating a sample that is no longer random.  Jeannette 
Aguilar of IUDOP appeared to lack confidence in IUDOP's poll 
and confided that, although the poll shows a double-digit 
lead, she thought the race would be close. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
EXTERIOR VOTERS MAY HAVE THROWN SAN SALVADOR POLLS 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶7.  (C) Several firms attributed the failure of at least six 
polling firms to accurately predict the outcome of San 
Salvador,s mayoral race to votes from individuals residing 
outside of the capital.  (Salvadorans vote by place of 
registration, not by their current place of residence). 
Segura said the disparity between the polls and the results 
suggested some type of fraud or voter manipulation, but he 
questioned the validity of the polling from IUDOP and CIOPS, 
which was off by double digits.  Zepeda admitted that CIOPS 
probably made a mistake in their sample and that some voters 
changed their minds but asserted that voters from outside of 
 
San Salvador also were a factor.  Elner Crespin of COP 
pointed out that their polling matched results in key 
municipal races besides San Salvador.  He said that survey 
respondents attributed votes from outside San Salvador, the 
ARENA candidate,s perceived competence, and the ARENA 
metrobus proposal as top factors in the San Salvador outcome. 
 
 
¶8.  (C) Comment:  Although Funes appears to have the edge in 
credible poll numbers (CID-Gallup, LPG Datos), the race is 
too close to call.  Given the disparities in polling 
methodology and the apparent ideological bias of many of the 
local firms, we will only be able to judge the accuracy of 
the polling after the March 15 election.  Voter migration 
within El Salvador may have thrown off the January 18 polling 
data; voters returning home to vote on March 15 (mostly from 
the U.S.) could similarly throw off the presidential election 
polling.  End Comment. 
BLAU