Bogota.– The president of the United States, Barack Obama, has been ranked the most popular leader among Latin Americans by the Ibero-American Poll of Governance, which was conducted in 20 countries of the Americas.

The poll was conducted by the Ibero-American Consortium and coordinated by the National Consulting Center in Bogota, which has conducted the survey since 1992.

In the case of the President Obama, 85 percent of Latin American residents in his nation support him.

Then there's Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, whose management 74 percent of Colombians approve of. This is just a point higher than Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

So it is that these three chief executives arrive with the highest ratings at the Fifth Summit of the Americas, being held from Friday to Sunday at Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago. Thirty four of the continents nations are participating. Cuba is not.

Unlike the surveys conducted in previous years, of the twenty leaders people were asked about, twelve had favorability ratings above 50 percent.

Those who aren't doing so well are the presidents of Nicaragua and Argentina. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has only a 35 percent approval among his people, while Argentine President Cristina Fernandez is at the bottom of the table with just 30 percent.

Another finding of the survey is that there is a broad confidence in the region's institutions and newspapers. In the Dominican Republic, 66 percent of respondents said that they trusted the print media, while in Colombia, 53 percent said they did.

Among the entities in which Colombians have less confidence are the banks. Only 48 percent trust them, while in Dominican Republic the figure is 76 percent.