Market economies in Latin America

Here is another interesting graph from the 2011 Latinobarómetro poll. The question is whether a market economy is the only way to become developed.

Some of the results seem counterintuitive.  Rafael Correa is popular and critical of capitalism, but there is broad support for the market. Same with Venezuela. In Chile, meanwhile, which is the most capitalist country in the western hemisphere, support is very low. If you want to know why, read my book.

Maybe the strangest example is Nicaragua, which has the highest level of belief in the market despite being one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere.

Overall, though, we should remember that ideology is not nearly so simple as it is usually portrayed.  Citizens' views are far more nuanced than they are typically given credit for, and in fact government policies are not as easily categorized as people like to think.