Hugo Chavez’s support has declined in the polls as many Venezuelans say they are fed up with 27 percent inflation, a stagnant economy, faulty public services — and a government they see as incapable of doing much about it.
The president’s popularity has slid in monthly tracking polls from a high of 61 percent after winning a vote in February to 52.8 percent last month, pollster Luis Vicente Leon of the Caracas-based firm Datanalisis said on Wednesday, adding that the downward trend in the percentage who view his presidency positively has continued since.
After more than a decade in power, Chavez is still by far the country’s most popular, most resilient and most divisive politician.
What appears to have changed recently is that more are complaining about the high cost of living and a government that has often fallen far short of its promises.
“Whatever he offers, everything gets half-done,” said Maria Martinez, a 32-year-old who once voted for Chavez, but now is disenchanted.
She said the government’s health programs are insufficient and the US$500 or so she earns each month selling books in the street is no longer enough to support her five children.
She said water reaches her Caracas slum only now and then because of broken main that officials haven’t fixed.
“They always say they’re going to repair the pipe and they never do,” Martinez said. “They offer and offer, and they never finish.”
Leon, whose polling firm has long tracked Venezuelans’ views about Chavez, said that in the past whenever his popularity has dipped near or below 50 percent, it has “set off alarms” for the president and he has found ways to boost his support.
He said Chavez has recovered from worse situations before and “continues to be the strongest leader in the game.”
In the past couple of months, as the lower poll numbers emerged, Chavez announced plans to bring in more Cuban doctors to staff neighborhood clinics he acknowledged had been abandoned. He also has prepared to boost spending through issuing some US$8 billion in bonds.
The president said recently that the final months of this year “are going to be a big offensive in all areas — in politics, social issues, economic issues.”
The government, which relies on oil revenues for about half its budget, is trying to turn around an economy that after years of rapid growth contracted 2.4 percent in the second quarter of the year.
“The soft spots in Chavez’s regime are serious and are beginning to affect his popularity,” said analyst Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington. “The chief problem is simply the lack of government capacity and competence ... There is growing disappointment and frustration with government programs that are not delivering results. The effect is gradual erosion in Chavez’s support.”
Yet Chavez still faces no strong political opponents with anywhere near as much support.
To win back popularity, Chavez is likely to boost public spending in the coming months, especially on visible projects like fixing up hospitals and stocking state-run markets with subsidized food.
According to the most recent Datanalisis poll, violent crime continues to be viewed as Venezuela’s biggest problem by far with 48 percent naming it as their top concern.
Leon added that other results suggest Chavez’s flagging support is very much linked to the economic crisis, as a growing number of Venezuelans worry about their personal economies.
“He has support, he has charisma,” said Yusmary Garrido, a 36-year-old who rents mobile phones by the minute at a plastic table and is thankful to Chavez for the free university education she now receives.
She said the socialist leader’s opponents make a lot of noise, but don’t present viable alternatives.
“Until now, there’s been no one else who can compete with him,” she said.
PHISHING: The con might appear convincing, as the scam e-mails can coincide with genuine messages from Apple saying you have run out of storage For a while you have been getting messages from Apple saying “your iCloud storage is full.” They say you have exceeded your storage plan, so documents are no longer being backed up, and photos you take are not being uploaded. You have been resisting Apple’s efforts to get you to pay a minimum of ￡0.99 (US$1.33) a month for more storage, but it seems that you cannot keep putting off the inevitable: You have received an e-mail which says your iCloud account has been blocked, and your photos and videos would be deleted very soon. To keep them you need
The Israeli military has demolished entire villages as part of its invasion of south Lebanon, rigging homes with explosives and razing them to the ground in massive remote detonations. The Guardian reviewed three videos posted by the Israeli military and on social media, which showed Israel carrying out mass detonations in the villages of Taybeh, Naqoura and Deir Seryan along the Israel-Lebanon border. Lebanese media has reported more mass detonations in other border villages, but satellite imagery was not readily available to verify these claims. The demolitions came after Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz called for the destruction of
A US YouTuber who caused outrage for filming himself kissing a statue commemorating Korean wartime sex slaves has been sentenced to six months in prison, a court in Seoul said yesterday. Johnny Somali, 25, gained notoriety several years ago for recording himself doing a series of provocative stunts in South Korea and Japan, and streaming them on platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. South Korean authorities indicted Somali — whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael — in 2024 on public order violations and obstruction of business, and banned him from leaving the country. “The court has sentenced him to six months in
The death toll from a shooting in western Afghanistan rose to 11 on Saturday, after gunmen targeted civilians at a picnic spot in Herat, the provincial authority said. Bullet marks were visible on a wall of the Sayed Mohammad Agha Shia shrine, while bloodstains marked a blanket abandoned at the scene. “Eleven people have been recorded dead and eight others wounded from Friday’s incident, with the condition of two of the wounded reported as critical,” Herat’s information office said in a statement. The update raises a toll of seven killed provided on Friday by the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs
RSS