Post by vgambler33 on Dec 21, 2005 13:06:56 GMT -5
The Oppenheimer Report
If you thought that Latin America's elites tend to support the United States while the poor are more likely to be anti-American, a new poll shows that you may be wrong.
In many cases, it's the other way around.
The poll of Latin American elites by Zogby International, scheduled to be formally released Thursday at The Miami Herald's Americas Conference, shows that Latin America's elites are more critical of the United States, and tend to describe themselves as more left of center than the rest of the population.
SIX COUNTRIES
The poll, commissioned by The Herald and the University of Miami School of Business, was conducted among government officials, business people, journalists and academics in six Latin American countries -- Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina.
It asked some of the same questions that were asked in another poll to the general population. And, in many cases, the differences were striking.Asked to name their country's ''best friend in the world,'' members of the elites picked Spain by a wide margin.
Comparatively, a 2004 Latin America-wide poll of the general population conducted by the Chile-based firm Latinobarómetro found that a majority picked the United States.
The Zogby poll shows that 37 percent of elites said Spain is their country's best friend, while 12 percent selected the United States, and 10 percent Brazil.
The Latinobarómetro poll of the general population showed the United States ahead with 28 percent, followed by Spain with 10 percent and Brazil with 3 percent.
''I would have assumed that it was the other way around, that the elites would be more favorable to the United States than the general public,'' pollster John Zogby told me. ``However, for those paying close attention, which is what elites do for a living, this is a testimonial of how much more work the United States has to do to repair the damage.''
NOT SURPRISED
Marta Lagos, head of the Latinombarómetro polling firm, told me in a separate telephone interview that the Zogby poll coincides with her own findings: Latin Americans with the highest levels of education tend to have the most negative views of the United States.
''This is because many U.S.-supported [economic] policies in Latin America have not worked, and because the declassification of documents about the U.S. involvement with Latin American dictatorships in the '70s has hurt the U.S. image among those who care,'' Lagos said.
``But people with the lowest education levels still believe in the American dream -- that in the United States, you can be born in Harlem and end up on Fifth Avenue.''
Asked whether Washington manages world conflicts well -- including the Bush administration's handling of Iraq, the Middle East and the war on terrorism -- 86 percent of the Latin American elites said they disagree.
By comparison, when Latinobarómetro asked the same question to the general population, 66 percent of respondents said they disagree.
Asked where they stand politically, 28 percent of the elites questioned in the poll described themselves as left of center, while 23 percent called themselves right-of-center. Among the general population, 21 percent branded themselves left of center, while 20 percent said they are right of center.
''The elites tend to be more to the left than the general population, which may explain why many people don't feel well-represented by their leaders,'' says Lagos. ``There may be a discrepancy between what the elites think the people want and what the people really want.''
CAUSE FOR CONCERN
My conclusion: While Latin American elites may be only somewhat tilted to the left, that should be no cause for celebration in Washington.
The fact is that, both among the elites and among the general population, Uncle Sam is not faring well among Latin Americans.
BAD NEWS
When a sizable majority of Latin Americans across the social spectrum disagree with how the United States is handling world affairs, something bodes badly for U.S. ties with what President Bush calls ``the neighborhood.''
And when, on top of that, the U.S. government reduces student and cultural exchanges, it makes it increasingly cumbersome for people in the region to get tourist visas, and it conducts humiliating body searches of Latin American dignitaries when they arrive at U.S. airports, it's hard to think that the U.S. image will improve anytime soon.
If you thought that Latin America's elites tend to support the United States while the poor are more likely to be anti-American, a new poll shows that you may be wrong.
In many cases, it's the other way around.
The poll of Latin American elites by Zogby International, scheduled to be formally released Thursday at The Miami Herald's Americas Conference, shows that Latin America's elites are more critical of the United States, and tend to describe themselves as more left of center than the rest of the population.
SIX COUNTRIES
The poll, commissioned by The Herald and the University of Miami School of Business, was conducted among government officials, business people, journalists and academics in six Latin American countries -- Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina.
It asked some of the same questions that were asked in another poll to the general population. And, in many cases, the differences were striking.Asked to name their country's ''best friend in the world,'' members of the elites picked Spain by a wide margin.
Comparatively, a 2004 Latin America-wide poll of the general population conducted by the Chile-based firm Latinobarómetro found that a majority picked the United States.
The Zogby poll shows that 37 percent of elites said Spain is their country's best friend, while 12 percent selected the United States, and 10 percent Brazil.
The Latinobarómetro poll of the general population showed the United States ahead with 28 percent, followed by Spain with 10 percent and Brazil with 3 percent.
''I would have assumed that it was the other way around, that the elites would be more favorable to the United States than the general public,'' pollster John Zogby told me. ``However, for those paying close attention, which is what elites do for a living, this is a testimonial of how much more work the United States has to do to repair the damage.''
NOT SURPRISED
Marta Lagos, head of the Latinombarómetro polling firm, told me in a separate telephone interview that the Zogby poll coincides with her own findings: Latin Americans with the highest levels of education tend to have the most negative views of the United States.
''This is because many U.S.-supported [economic] policies in Latin America have not worked, and because the declassification of documents about the U.S. involvement with Latin American dictatorships in the '70s has hurt the U.S. image among those who care,'' Lagos said.
``But people with the lowest education levels still believe in the American dream -- that in the United States, you can be born in Harlem and end up on Fifth Avenue.''
Asked whether Washington manages world conflicts well -- including the Bush administration's handling of Iraq, the Middle East and the war on terrorism -- 86 percent of the Latin American elites said they disagree.
By comparison, when Latinobarómetro asked the same question to the general population, 66 percent of respondents said they disagree.
Asked where they stand politically, 28 percent of the elites questioned in the poll described themselves as left of center, while 23 percent called themselves right-of-center. Among the general population, 21 percent branded themselves left of center, while 20 percent said they are right of center.
''The elites tend to be more to the left than the general population, which may explain why many people don't feel well-represented by their leaders,'' says Lagos. ``There may be a discrepancy between what the elites think the people want and what the people really want.''
CAUSE FOR CONCERN
My conclusion: While Latin American elites may be only somewhat tilted to the left, that should be no cause for celebration in Washington.
The fact is that, both among the elites and among the general population, Uncle Sam is not faring well among Latin Americans.
BAD NEWS
When a sizable majority of Latin Americans across the social spectrum disagree with how the United States is handling world affairs, something bodes badly for U.S. ties with what President Bush calls ``the neighborhood.''
And when, on top of that, the U.S. government reduces student and cultural exchanges, it makes it increasingly cumbersome for people in the region to get tourist visas, and it conducts humiliating body searches of Latin American dignitaries when they arrive at U.S. airports, it's hard to think that the U.S. image will improve anytime soon.