Hinterlaces: 51% think that Venezuela is going the wrong way

Oscar Schemel, the CEO of pollster Hinterlaces, said that their latest monthly poll, which ended on January 22, found that 51% of Venezuelans think that Venezuela is going the wrong way, while 43% said that the country is going the right way. "Half of the respondents are not happy, but they do not blame President Chávez but the government."

Schemel was interviewed on Monday in a show aired by state-run TV network Venezolana de Televisión. He noted that 51% of respondents said that President Chávez must be reelected, while 43% wants a new president. The opposition has not yet elected his candidate.

"If elections were held today, President Chávez would receive 50% of votes and the opposition would get 34%, no matter who is the opposition candidate," the poll reported.

The latest poll conducted by research firm Hinterlaces found that voters who are still undecided, popularly known as "ni-ni" (neither pro-Chávez activists nor dissenters), exceed 30% of the population.