Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has an 84% approval rating, according to the National Consulting Center. (Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images)

BOGOTÁ, Colombia – President Juan Manuel Santos’ approval rating is soaring – and he hasn’t even been in office a month.

His approval rating of 84% is higher than that of his predecessor, Álvaro Uribe, who led the Andean nation for the past eight years.

But for Juan Manuel Santos, it gets even better. Just 6% of the 1,000 surveyed in 38 cities nationwide by the National Consulting Center for the news service CM& from Aug. 20-23 said they thought negatively of the Partido de la U leader.

Still, some Colombians say it is premature to draw conclusions about the president because the poll was conducted two weeks after he was inaugurated.

“It is really hard to understand where that 84% popularity rate is coming from, when Santos hasn’t done anything yet,” said Felipe Madriñán, a businessman from Bogotá. “I believe that those approval rates are a legacy from the previous administration.”

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos promised during his campaign he would not raise taxes. (Martín Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images)

Uribe ended his second term with the highest approval rating (80%) in the country’s recent history, according to a Gallup poll commissioned by the Colombian daily El País.

“The simple fact of seeing a different face in the office of the President of the Republic sends a message of positive change, which renews expectations and hope,” said Edna González, a graphic designer also from the nation’s capital.

Juan Manuel Santos’s leadership style, cautious speeches and choices of public officials responsible for implementing government policies are reasons why his rating is so high, said Marco Romero, professor of Political Science at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, in Bogotá.

“The presidential runoff has a lot to do with the popularity the President has today,” Romero said. “First, because he had an unprecedented voter turnout by invoking national unity and second, the nine million votes he got put him above Uribe in terms of popular mandate, giving him great autonomy from that point on.”

Romero also said Juan Manuel Santos’ conciliatory tone has been key to his making a good first impression.

“Santos comes off as a thoughtful and respectful man, who measures each of one of his actions to avoid major political problems, without giving up his position as the president,” he said.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos’ 84% approval rating is higher than his predecessor’s, Álvaro Uribe, who ended his second term with an 80% approval rating. (Eitan Abramovich/AFP/Getty Images)

But if Juan Manuel Santos can’t keep the promises he made during his campaign, which include not raising his taxes, his approval rating could decrease, Colombian economist Mauricio Reina told Reuters.

“There are things said in every presidential campaign that end up having unexpected consequences,” Reina said. “In Santos’ case, the promise regarding taxes has turned into a straightjacket for one of the key challenges this government faces: public finances.”

Camilo Pérez, economic research director at the Banco de Bogotá, said Juan Manuel Santos’ tax policy may cause it to run into a few economic obstacles.

“Many of the measures the government has announced are directed toward raising the levels of spending and lowering taxes,” he said, according to Reuters.