A late February poll by Datanalisis, a company linked to the president’s opponents, found that support for left-wing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has risen to 70.5%. This is a significant increase in support since August 2004, when a referendum to recall Chavez was opposed by 60% of the population. Analysing the full poll results, Datanalisis estimated that 73% of Venezuelans had benefited in some way from Chavez’s key reforms: free medical attention, free educational programs, the housing missions or the government-run supermarkets that sell food staples at up to a 40% discount. Meanwhile, a poll conducted by the Iberian-American Barometer of Governability released the same week found that Chavez is viewed by Latin Americans as the most important political figure on the continent after Cuban President Fidel Castro. The polls reveals that the continent-wide approval rating for Chavez has leapt from 25% this time last year to 65% now.

From Green Left Weekly, May 11, 2005.
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