(Click on the chart for a bigger image).The chart is in Spanish, though the basic outlines should be clear: the dashed line represents the proportion of Venezuelans who disapprove of Chavez, whereas the solid line represents the proportion of Venezuelans who approve. The vertical lines indicate various important events during Chavez' time in office ("Salida del paro" indicates the end of the general strike against Chavez in 2003; "Post RCTV" indicates the time after the closure of the opposition TV station RCTV; "Ref" means the referendum on Chavez' term limits proposals; and "regionales" means regional elections; "Misiones" indicates the introduction of the "Missions" - a number of organizations for the delivery of social benefits). The coup against Chavez occurred in April 2002 but is not noted in the chart.
The chart comes from a piece critical of Chavez and his regime here.
What I find most intriguing about this graph is the overwhelming majority that initially approved of Hugo Chavez’s regime in terms of wellbeing of the country. 91.9% seems an incredible amount of support for a leader of any country whether they are a new leader or not. All I can think of to explain this is a significant lack of support for the previous leader. I haven't read much into Venezuela before Chavez, so any information is welcome.
ReplyDeleteI have been looking for other opinion polls to see if there are similarities and came across some on this website:
http://www.borev.net/2008/10/poll_hugo_chavez_is_5_thousand.html
In most cases Hugo Chavez is seen in a positive light, with 61.3% claiming things has got better for them and their families during the last two or three years (2008).
It is also interesting to note the 37.4% of people who do not indentify with Chavez or the opposition. These people could be a potentially powerful group for either side to gain the support of.