Taking a look at some facts (for a change) in Venezuela

first, some polling data...

In March, Consultadores 21, another public opinion firm associated with Venezuela's opposition, released a poll asking Venezuelans their opinion on a wide range of issues.

They found that Chávez got middling marks for tackling some of the country's most persistent problems; just under half of those surveyed approved of his handling of security and his efforts to rein in corruption -- both chronic conditions.

When asked if they thought Chávez was doing a good job tackling other issues, these were the results:

* Education: 69.4 percent approved

* Housing: 65.3 percent approved

* Health care: 65.2 percent approved

* Purchasing power: 54 percent approved

* Employment: 53.6 percent approved

now, some data on the economy...

...another set of data from the opposition -- in this case from the virulently anti-Chávez Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce (Vencham), based on research by the polling firm Datos (translation again courtesy of OilWars).

It crunched the economic data from 2005 and concluded -- no doubt to Vencham's chagrin -- that in addition to an "increase in social spending and social investment," unemployment was down, there was a "real increase in the minimum wage and improvements in other benefits," and interest rates fell in 2005.

Venezuelans' purchases of consumer goods -- supposedly the ultimate sign of a healthy society -- is up by 16 percent since Chávez took office -- the highest level since the 1980s...

and, guess who's benefiting the MOST...? (if you guessed the super-rich, the scenario in the u.s., you would be dead-wrong...)

But a majority of Venezuelans -- the bottom 60 percent (58 percent to be exact) of the income distribution -- saw stunning gains. In 2004, their real income grew by 30 percent, and last year by another 16 percent. This is the poor majority that Hugo Chávez promised to help when he was elected.

Taken together, these numbers explain why Venezuelans' confidence in their economy is at its highest level since 1988 and the second highest since Datos started measuring it in 1982 (and more than double what it was before Chávez took power in 1998).

the point the article so clearly makes is that voters in venezuela, like voters everywhere, are going to vote on the issues, despite the attempts from u.s. political consultants like dick morris to meddle and turn things toward a u.s.-style, polarized mess...

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