Most Venezuelans think Chavez will recover: poll

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Most Venezuelans think Chavez will recover: poll

By Mario Naranjo
CARACAS | Tue Feb 26, 2013 3:12pm EST

(Reuters) - Most Venezuelans expect President Hugo Chavez to recover from cancer and return to active rule even though he has been in hospital and virtually unseen for two-and-a-half months, a poll showed on Tuesday.

Local pollster Hinterlaces said 60 percent of interviewees believe Chavez will be cured and back to governing, while 14 percent think he will recover but be unable to rule again, and 12 percent view his state as incurable.

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The surprisingly optimistic view of Venezuelans - in contrast to a more pessimistic consensus among diplomats and analysts that Chavez's 14-year rule is probably nearing its end - came in the presentation of two recent surveys by Hinterlaces.

"Far from weakening 'Chavismo,' far from reducing the popular support for President Chavez, his absence and illness have strengthened the bonds of affection and identification with the president's ideals," Hinterlaces head Oscar Schemel said.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/26/us-venezuela-chavez-idUSBRE91P0XN20130226

[Judi Lynn]

1. Very nice! Unexpected treatment from Reuters, to put it mildly. Thanks. n/t

[joshcryer]

2. Effective propaganda.

[Peace Patriot]

3. "in contrast to a more pessimistic consensus among diplomats and analysts"

If wishes were lollipops, all the diplomats and analysts of Roman Empire II would have diabetes, from thinking about Chavez dying.

Hey, diplomats and analysts! Wishing Chavez dead is bad for your health!

This is not to say that 60% of Venezuelans are not wishfully thinking. They may be. Or maybe the question was confusing--and they thought they were being polled about Chavez's Vice President Nicholas Maduro (continuation of Chavez policies), or were themselves confusing the two things (that is, they want the Chavez government to continue and projected that thought onto a question about Chavez dying).

I dunno. It's interesting. The news WE get seems dire, as to Chavez's health. But, a) our news sources are, to say the least, tainted with the wish that Chavez and all that he stands for will DIE, DIE, DIE; and b) most of us don't live in Venezuela where the citizens recently placed their country FIFTH IN THE WORLD on their own sense of well-being and future prospects (in the Gallup "Well-being" poll). Venezuelans are optimistic and have reason to be optimistic after having voted themselves a "New Deal" over the last decade and having experienced its results so far (Venezuela designated "THE most equal country in Latin America," on income distribution, by the UN Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean). They've seen miracles of democracy and responsive government. By God, they've seen the poor majority SAVE Venezuela's democracy, by pouring into the streets in the tens of thousands, during the 2002 coup attempt. So maybe they're expecting another miracle--on Chavez's health.

I hope they are right. And if you see any "diplomats or analysts" sucking lollipops on TV, turn your TV off to protect the children from bad habits, and say a prayer that Venezuelans get to continue their "New Deal," no matter what happens with Chavez, and that we get a "New Deal" here, too. It's lo-o-o-ong overdue.