An experienced field supervisor for public opinion studies conducted by M&R Consultants, owned by pollster Raul Obregon, revealed how M&R polls are \u201cfabricated.\u201d The process involves selecting in advance the households to be surveyed\u2014those located in areas with concentrations of state workers and families with Sandinista traditions. The names and addresses are provided by the FSLN political commissars in each territory. <\/p>\n\n
The former M&R employee, who asked to be identified as Mario<\/em> to protect his identity, explained that given the fragmentation of the FSLN\u2019s former social base, only two out of ten so-called \u201cOrtega-Murillo supporters\u201d are genuine. Mario worked as a supervisor on many of M&R Consultores\u2019 \u201cpublic opinion studies\u201d and says, \u201cThe compa\u00f1era [Rosario Murillo] draws almost unanimous rejection.\u201d Obreg\u00f3n claims: \u201c98.7% of Nicaraguans perceive there is peace in Nicaragua.\u201d Mario<\/em>, however, points out that <\/em>M&R must meet the regime\u2019s demands, and whenever supervisors find unexpected results, they immediately inform the M&R office, which instructs them to leave the area and head to another pre-selected location.<\/p>\n\n Most people refuse to give opinions to the pollsters\u2014even members of the regime\u2019s so-called \u201csocial base\u201d like FSLN militants, state workers, police, and army soldiers\u2014because, according to Mario<\/em>, they fear the M&R polls <\/em>are not just propaganda tools for the dictatorship but also a way to collect information about people\u2019s views, which could later trigger repressive actions.<\/p>\n\n When conducting interviews, respondents usually have no problem answering questions about things like garbage collection, for example, but they immediately refuse to address political issues, Mario<\/em> says. This forces pollsters to \u201cdoctor the questionnaire to get answers,\u201d which contaminates the polls. \u201cThe pollsters have to make sure all the questions appear answered,\u201d Mario<\/em> explains. <\/p>\n\n Respondents also refuse to answer questions about personal or family income, considering it a strictly private matter. They fear what the state might do with such sensitive information, Mario<\/em> adds.<\/p>\n\n Pollsters are required to complete a certain number of interviews each day, and their daily pay depends on this quota, creating a perverse incentive to fill out the surveys themselves with the expected results for M&R Consultants. <\/p>\n\n The veteran supervisor told CONFIDENCIAL<\/strong> that \u201cmany pollsters hide in public bathrooms or in parks with few people to fill out the questionnaires,\u201d completely invalidating the surveys. <\/p>\n\n If the data processing does not produce results favorable to the regime, then, according to supervisor Mario<\/em>, the statistics are \u201cadjusted\u201d at the data processing office until the expected numbers are reached. <\/p>\n\n Supervisors and pollsters must go into neighborhoods wearing T-shirts identifying them as M&R Consultants, because public opinion surveys are banned in Nicaragua. However, Raul Obregon\u2019s company has free access to conduct them. Moreover, Mario<\/em> notes, they must deal with FSLN political commissars who closely monitor their movements almost everywhere they go. <\/p>\n\n Mario<\/em> has observed that regime agents have orders not to allow outside pollsters into their territories. As a result, companies like Cid Gallup cannot conduct in-person polls in the neighborhoods and instead carry them out by phone from Costa Rica. Mario<\/em>, who also worked as a supervisor for Cid Gallup, knows that most Nicaraguans refuse to answer such calls because they fear state security agents are recording the conversations and might punish them for their opinions. <\/p>\n\n On July 16, 2025, Obreg\u00f3n presented the results of what he calls \u201cthe 81st edition of the Public Opinion Monitoring System\u201d of M&R Consultores, based on 1,600 \u201cinterviews\u201d in 15 departments of the country. He announced the main \u201cfindings\u201d: \u201cThe government management of co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo maintains an 86.7% approval rating. Furthermore, 82.7% believe Nicaragua is heading in the right direction, and 87.2% say they feel hopeful about the government\u2019s work.\u201d <\/p>\n\n In March 2023, M&R Consultants claimed that 92.6% of Nicaraguans perceived peace in the country, and 92.3% believed there was economic and social stability. Each year, these percentages have supposedly increased. In the results presented on Wednesday, August 16, both supposedly reached 98.7% and 98.8%. <\/p>\n\n \u201cThe indicators we saw today show that Nicaraguans continue to be drawn to the wonders of the Sandinista People\u2019s Revolution. Their perception is that democracy is consolidating, and basically, for Nicaraguans, Daniel and Rosario are leaders who inspire confidence and reflect a hope. That belief for this period rose to nearly 87%,\u201d said M&R Consultants director Raul Obregon at the end of the presentation.<\/p>\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An experienced field supervisor for public opinion studies conducted by M&R Consultants, owned by pollster Raul Obregon, revealed how M&R polls are \u201cfabricated.\u201d The process involves selecting in advance the households to be surveyed\u2014those located in areas with concentrations of state workers and families with Sandinista traditions. The names and addresses are provided by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":173362,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_eb_data_table":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15445],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-173654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPolls Filled Out in Bathrooms and Parks<\/h2>\n\n
Political Commissars Watching in the Neighborhoods<\/h2>\n\n
Only Statistics Favoring the Dictatorship Are Published<\/h2>\n\n