One of the annoying things in Europe and America is the misrepresentation of Latin America in the English, French and Dutch speaking press. Personally I prefer relying on what I see and hear personally than what biased journalists want me to believe. One of those reliable sources is the yearly survey the Chilean polling firm 'Latinobarometro' publishes every year.
In 2007, 20.000 people from Latin America have been surveyed. The surveys were performed by reputable local polling companies such as Gallup and MORI. The study was published mid November. But strangely enough, no English speaking media has published an article on this important snapshot of Latin American views and opinions. When reading the 112 page long report of the survey, you’ll understand how fundamentally different the democracies in Latin American are becoming from the United States and most European countries. If we would plug in the answers from Belgian citizens in the charts of the report, we would quickly understand that the basis of the political crisis in Belgium is actually not a political crisis but a crisis of its citizens and their belief in the kind of democracy Belgium has become.
I’m picking out some themes:
1. “What is the most important problem in your country?” 
Below is a stat of the most important answers (crime and unemployment). Now, whereas most Western misinformed people think crime is a big problem in Brazil; it is not (in the eyes of its citizens). Only 17% of the Brazilians put crime forward as the main problem of the country. I wonder what the figure would be in South Africa and Belgium. Another one: Colombia: only 6% of its citizens consider crime to be the country biggest problem. Again: the perception we have of Colombia's FARC is very much hyped by the US press and is not at all what really lives amongst Colombians.
2. “The state can resolve all the countries problems”
If you would ask this question today to a Belgian, the score would be next to nill. In Venezuela 67% of the citizens answer yes on the question. In Argentina 47%, in Panama 46% and in Brasil 40%. More importantly: the figures of people answering yes on this question is massively raising since 2005. Whereas in all Western countries and especially the US it is falling to a historic low. At the same time people have become much more certain about their job compared to 2005, believe much less that a free market is the ultimate economical solution and are much more in favor of privatizations. You would notice the same trend in South Africa; with the difference that South Africans became not less but more uncertain about their job stability since 2005. 
3. “Do you know someone of your close friends or family who did tax evasion/fraude?”
In Belgium the ‘yes’ score must be quasi 100%. In Latin America only 18% of the people answer yes, and 77% no. The number of people answering yes dropped from 25% in 2002 to 18% in 2007. If I would have asked you about your view on all these matters before you read this report, you would have answered just the reverse of the actual facts of what lives amongst Latin Americans. The eye of the beholder…
