Maritime Ruling Boosts Peru President's Popularity

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala's approval rating rebounded in February to an eight-month high, boosted by an international court's ruling on a maritime dispute with Chile, a poll showed on Sunday.

Humala's popularity rose 7 percentage points to 33 percent, the strongest level since June, according to the Ipsos Peru poll published in newspaper El Comercio.

His approval had slumped to an all-time low of 25 percent in December, stung by a police corruption scandal and ongoing frustration with economic inequality amid a mining boom.

The Hague-based International Court of Justice's ruling in January, which awarded more than half of a disputed 38,000-square-kilometer patch of ocean to Peru, appears to have benefited the former military officer.

"As expected, The Hague ruling had a positive impact on the president's approval," said Alfredo Torres, the head of Ipsos Peru. "The ruling was well-received by citizens. Half of them think it was an equitable decision and 35 percent think Peru won," he added.

The poll of 1,242 people has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.

By Patricia Velez (C) Reuters 2014.