2009 Latinobarómetro Share This /

The Latinobarómetro, an annual public opinion survey, was recently released for 2009. Between September 21st and October 26th, 20,204 people were interviewed, who were "representative of 100% of the population" of 18 Latin American countries. The 2009 report begins with a fairly detailed review of opinions about Honduras' recent political crisis. Since the survey was administered during the political crisis, it reflects how many Hondurans felt at the time. Responses, however, do not reflect the failure of the negotiated agreement (the Tegucigalpa-San José Accord) or the elections on November 29th. The authors of the report write that the results of the 2009 Latinobarómetro indicate that "Despite the coup d'etat and despite the [economic] crisis, Latin America is more democratic after the 2009 crisis, is more tolerant, is more happy." Below is a summary of some of the answers that stood out.

• 58% of Hondurans responded that they did not approve of the coup d'etat, while 28% approved. The authors point out that the more educated and older the responders, the more supportive they were toward the coup. 40% of the supporters graduated from university, and 27% had a basic education. This trend is reversed for the rest of the region. 24% of Latin American citizens surveyed agreed with the expulsion of President Manuel Zelaya from Honduras, though, in this instance, the least-educated had the least objection to the coup, while the most-educated had the highest objection to the coup.
• In response to the question, "Do you think your country could be subjected to a coup d'etat?," the three countries with the highest percentage of "yes" responses were Ecuador (36%), Brazil (34%), and Venezuela (30%). Chile had the lowest percentage of "yes" responses, with only 6%.
• In the introduction of the section on questions about democracy, the authors write that "new" democracies are emerging in Latin America, "such as the case of Venezuela, where important elements of democracy are not present." This led to the questions on freedom of speech and freedom of the press. When asked if the media should be able to publish without fear of being closed, 75% of Latin American citizens agreed. In Ecuador, only 55% of those surveyed agreed with the statement, while 81% of Venezuelans agreed.
• According to the authors, "attitudes toward democracy in Latin America are flooded with authoritarian confusions, where citizens combine things that cannot be combined if it is democratic." These confusions were apparent in countries such as Costa Rica, whose citizens said that they would reject a military government (91%), responded that a president should be removed if s/he violates the constitution (27%), and said that in some difficult situations it is okay to act above the law (29%). The authors use Costa Rican's responses as an example of "precisely what happened in Honduras."
• Across the board, Venezuelans had the highest opinion of democracy. The country ranked 3rd, behind Uruguay and Costa Rica, in positive responses indicating that the country is "totally democratic." Paraguay had the lowest perception of its democracy, with only 5% saying it is totally democratic.
• Venezuelans ranked democracy high in other questions: 85% of Venezuelans responded that a democracy is better than any other form of government, and 90% responded that while a democracy can have problems, it is still the best system of governance. In Ecuador, only 43% of its citizens said democracy is better than any other form of government, while 66% said it is the best system of governance despite its problems. This division in responses was similar in Colombia, with 49% responding that democracy is better, and 73% responding that it is the best form of governance, despite its problems.
• In a question regarding the fairness of the country's distribution of wealth, Bolivia (34%), Venezuela (32%), and Ecuador (28%), responded most favorably, saying their country's distribution of wealth was fair. The countries with the least fair distribution of wealth, according to its citizens, are Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Argentina (Only 4% of those surveyed in Argentina responded that their wealth is fairly distributed).
• The election of Mauricio Funes in El Salvador led to a significant increase in the president's approval rating, which rose from 51% in 2008 to 83% in 2009. This increase is also signficant in comparison to the past 7 years in El Salvador, with the highest approval rating only reaching 58% in 2005). A significant increase also occurred in Panama, where Ricardo Martinelli was inaugurated in July of this year (from 41% in 2008 to 80% approval in 2009), and in Chile (from 59% to 85%).
• Protests also appear to be a much more acceptable way of democratic participation in 2009, with 92% of Latin Americans surveyed agreed that "marches, protests, and street protests are normal in a democracy." This increased from only 63% in 2008. Almost all of the 18 countries surveyed showed above 90% agreement with the statement, except Argentina, where only 58% of those surveyed agreed.
• Seven countries found delinquency to be the most important problem facing the country: Venezuela, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Uruguay, Chile, and Guatemala. The two countries that receive the highest amount of military and police assistance from the United States - Colombia and Mexico - viewed unemployment and the economy as the most important problems. Only 7% of Colombians and 18% of Mexicans found delinquency to be a problem. The authors also note the discrepancy in responses in both Mexico and Venezuela. For instance, in Mexico, 38% of those surveyed responded that they had been victims of delinquency, yet only 18% view delinquency as an important problem. In Venezuela, while the percentage of those who had been a victim of delinquency dropped substantially from 2008 to 2009 (53% to 39%), 55% of those surveyed still viewed it as an important problem in the country.
• President Barack Obama still had a high approval rating in Latin America. 73% of the respondents knew the name of the United States' president and 71% had a favorable opinion of President Obama. The countries with the lowest opinion of President Obama were Ecuador, Bolivia, and Paraguay, with 58% of respondents holding a favorable opinion of him. This "low" approval rating is still relatively high. The authors also call attention to "the 62% favorable opinion Venezuelans have toward Obama, despite the attacks against him by President Chávez."
• In terms of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, only 27% of the region has a favorable opinion of him. The country with the highest approval of President Chávez is the Dominican Republic (55%), followed by Venezuela (50%). Costa Rica (11%), Colombia (12%) and Mexico (13%) have the lowest approval rating of the Venezuelan president. According to the authors, "...Chávez has been able to conquer the hearts of no more than four countries: Uruguay, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua."