The paradox of support for democracy in Venezuela

Abstract

New democracies have not showed the same patterns of unconditional and generalised support for the democratic regime established, advanced democracies have. It is thus of crucial importance to understand under which particularities are new democracies maintained and legitimized. For this purpose, it is necessary to understand what is influencing mass support for democracy in them. “Support for democracy” has been widely measured in surveys, as it is regarded by many as an indicator of democratic legitimacy. Several questions have aimed to measure citizens’ support of their regimes, seeking in this way a deeper understanding of the quality of democracy. Using data from the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) 2008 round, I use structural equation modelling to assess the nature of the relationship between trust in the president and authoritative institutions and support for the democratic regime in Venezuela. Two distinct groups emerge from the data: those who show no trust at all towards president Chávez and institutions and those who have great trust towards them. The paradox is that both groups show remarkably high levels of support for the democratic regime. This suggests these different groups have alternative conceptions of what democracy is, and implies the need for the development of new approaches to the measurement of support for democracy.