The approval rating for the government of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet has dropped to a record low of 15 percent, a new poll published on Friday showed.

The poll, which was carried out by the Center for Public Studies in Santiago in July and August, found just 15 percent of Chileans approve of the left-wing government. This is nine percentage points down from the same poll in December when 66 percent disapproved of the government.

This approval rating for Bachelet is the lowest for any president of Chile since it returned to democracy in 1990.

Analysts say that Bachelet's low popularity is due to a combination of anger at her education and tax reforms and the judicial problems facing her son and daughter-in-law concerning a shady real estate deal.

The poll also asked Chileans who they would prefer as their next president. Fourteen percent picked former President Sebastian Pinera (2010-2014), 5 percent would pick former President Ricardo Lagos (2000-2006) and 3 percent picked independent politician Marco Enriquez-Ominami.

However, a staggering 70 percent said they had no choice in mind, showing a high level of mistrust among Chileans for politicians. Endi

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