Latinobarómetro 2007

It is that time of year again—the 2007 Latinobarómetro is here. It is a 112 page report so the best idea is just to browse through. Some highlights:

--only in Uruguay and Venezuela did a majority of people indicate satisfaction with democracy.

--Venezuelans were the most likely to say they had been a victim of a crime.

--by far, Venezuelans were most satisfied with the current and future economic situation of the country.

--by far, Brazilians were the most likely to say they had been a victim of corruption (2/3 of respondents).

--people across Latin America have more confidence in the military than in the police, judicial system, congress or political parties.

--in no country did a majority say that privatization was good for the country. Interestingly, Venezuelans ranked the highest (47% said privatization was good). Argentina was lowest at 19%.

--majorities in about half the countries said that a market economy was best for the country (Colombia was highest; Guatemala lowest). However, almost all countries showed a noticeable drop in that number since 2002.

--only in Venezuela did a majority of respondents say the country had a “just” distribution of wealth. No other country even reached 1/3.

--on a ranking of the political left and right, respondents in the Dominican Republic were more on the right, and Guatemala was most leftist. Latin Americans as a whole ranked themselves almost exactly in the center (5.3 on a 10 point scale).

--Lula is the most popular president in the region. Interestingly, Hugo Chávez ranked very low, beneath George W. Bush.