Poll: Venezuelan attitudes to socialism and capitalism

The pollsters did not provide any definition of what capitalism and socialism were. Probably the respondents associate socialism with Chavez' policies and capitalism with former regimes and neo-liberal capitalist policies. I doubt that the survey will get much publicity.

http://www.gallupworldpoll.com/content/?CI=28918>

October 05, 2007
Venezuelans Tend to View Socialism More Positively Than Capitalism

Large percentages, however, say they simply do not know

by Patricia Guadalupe
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez this week
announced Venezuelans will be limited on the amount of luxury goods
they can import, citing his countrymen's consumption of foreign
whiskey as an example of consumerism's ill effects on society. In
2006, according to the BBC, Venezuelans drank nearly four bottles of
Scotch whisky per person, and about 10% of British exports of the
spirit. Chavez says the high consumption is embarrassing, and will
limit the dollars available to importers.

Chavez's efforts at curbing consumption of high-end items are just
one example of what he calls "21st-century socialism," a populist
brand of governance based more on socialist principles than on
capitalist ones. Since his re-election last year, Chavez has also
worked toward nationalizing key industries, establishing worker-led
business firms, and changing Venezuela's constitution and education
system. A Gallup Poll conducted at the time of Chavez's re-election
reveals Venezuelans tend to perceive socialism more positively than
capitalism on key issues affecting day-to-day life, governance, and
economics.

On many issues affecting day-to-day life, Venezuelans are nearly
twice as likely to associate socialism with positive outcomes, as
they are to associate them with capitalism. When Gallup asked
respondents whether "more freedom to think the way one wants" better
describes socialism or capitalism, 43% say socialism, compared with
26% who say capitalism. Venezuelans share similar views about under
which system there is more peace and social calm (44% for socialism
vs. 23% for capitalism), and under which system there is less crime
(42% for socialism vs. 22% for capitalism).

A similar pattern emerges on issues related to governance. Forty-
three percent of Venezuelans say the country has more sovereignty
under socialism, while 24% say this is true of capitalism. The same
holds true on the issue of corruption, with 42% saying corruption
gets fought under socialism, while 21% say this happens with
capitalism. Forty-four percent perceive more justice for people under
socialism, compared with 21% who perceive this about capitalism.

Forty-nine percent of respondents say socialism offers education
opportunities for all, compared with 21% who say the same about
capitalism. Venezuelans also perceive that there is better quality of
education with socialism (45%) than with capitalism (25%).
Nonetheless, when Chavez initially talked about education reform
during his first term, several thousand parents and teachers
demonstrated against a decree to allow education officials to fire
teachers and administrators who disagree with any changes.

While Chavez is unlikely to face great opposition from his support
base -- generally the poor -- for his limit on the importation of
luxury items, other reform attempts have not fared as well. His
attempt, for example, to change the country's constitution to extend
the presidency from six to seven years and eliminate presidential
term limits has not been well-received as of late. The Venezuelan
Assembly is discussing that proposal, and this week a group of
legislators from Podemos, a splinter group of a pro-Chavez socialist
organization, rejected the constitutional changes, saying they want
socialism that is democratic, not authoritarian. Thirty-nine percent
of Venezuelans surveyed at the time of Chavez's re-election said that
under socialism "it is guaranteed that a president will be changed at
the time they have to," while 26% said the same about capitalism.

Venezuelans are more mixed in regard to which system is better from
an economic perspective. Forty percent say more wealth gets produced
under socialism, compared with 28% who say the same about capitalism.
Forty-six percent say wealth is better distributed under socialism
and 22% say under capitalism. Venezuelans are nearly evenly divided
about which system affords more people with opportunities to make
money; 35% say socialism and 34% say capitalism. Roughly 4 in 10
Venezuelans (41%) tell Gallup there is more inflation and a high cost
of living under capitalism, compared with 27% who say the same is
true about socialism.

Across the board, a high percentage of Venezuelans say they "don't
know" about a particular issue, between 17% and 21%, and generally
another 5% refuse to answer the question. This may be attributable to
the fact the terms socialism and capitalism were not defined for
respondents. Some analysts say the high numbers might also reflect a
general lack of discourse in the country about these issues, and more
a "cult of personality" revolving around Chavez. "Discussions on
ideology, such as one would have when one talks about socialism and
capitalism and which systems are better, is not something that has
been discussed much in Venezuela, and therefore most people really
don't think about it too much," says Pedro Bucelli, a financial
analyst specializing in emerging markets who is a former board member
of Petroleos de Venezuela, the country's national petroleum company,
and a pro-business member of the opposition civic group Sumate.
"Discussions and debate in Venezuela have focused on individuals,"
Bucelli adds. "There is a political explosion in the country,
revolving around an individual, not necessarily around an ideology."

Survey Methods

Results are based on face-to-face interviews with 1,000 Venezuelan
adults, aged 15 and older, in December 2006. For results based on the
total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that
the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In
addition to sampling error, question wording and practical
difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into
the findings of public opinion polls.