Chavez's support in Venezuela crumbling?

In creating his brand of “21st-century socialism,” which is redistributing wealth to the poor from the “oligarchy,” as Chávez dubs the elite, the president has relied on oil revenues, and he has reduced poverty and illiteracy.

But as oil prices dropped and the world sank into financial crisis, Chávez’s problems mounted. In local elections in 2008, his party lost many top posts throughout the country. Perhaps most stunning was his party’s mayoral candidate’s loss to the opposition in a Caracas municipality that includes the Petare slum, a traditional Chávez stronghold. Residents cited crime and inflation as their No. 1 concerns.

The economy shrank by 3.3 percent last year, and this year it is forecast to do the same. That makes it the only economy in Latin America expected to contract. Inflation hovers at around 30 percent. And Chávez has contended with a drought-induced electricity crisis, which for six months meant forced blackouts throughout the country…

Such rhetoric resonates with many Venezuelans, one reason Chávez’s popularity remains relatively high (48 percent approval in May) after 11 years in office. Still, Jose Vicente Leon, a pollster in Caracas, says that Chávez’s popularity had fallen considerably, from 61 percent in February 2009 to 42 percent the same month a year later.