Venezuela Presidential Race Tightens

Venezuela Presidential Race Tightens

November 17, 2006

    CARACAS, Venezuela, Nov. 17 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- A
nationwide tracking poll conducted among the most likely
Venezuela voters in advance of the December 3rd
Presidential Election shows the race tightening between
incumbent President Hugo Chavez and opposition candidate,
Governor Manuel Rosales, with Chavez losing support and
Rosales picking up considerable support in recent weeks.

    The data collected shows that President Hugo Chavez
leads Manuel Rosales by just 6 points, compared with a lead
of 13 points in September.

    The November poll found 48% voting for Chavez and 42%
voting for Rosales.  Compared to Penn, Schoen &
Berland's poll in September, Hugo Chavez's level of support
has declined 2 points, from 50% to 48%, while Manuel Rosales
has increased his level of support 5 points from 37% to
42%.

    Question Text: If the presidential elections were held
today for whom would you vote?
                              September                
November

    Hugo Chavez                  50%                     
48%
    Manual Rosales               37%                     
42%
    Benjamin Rausseo              3%                      
1%
    Undecided                     9%                      
9%

    "The momentum is clearly with Rosales," said
Dr. Douglas E. Schoen, Chairman of Penn, Schoen &
Berland Associates.  "Rosales is making inroads and
the country is now evenly divided on the direction of the
country and Chavez's performance as president."

    Penn, Schoen & Berland's data follows a similar
pattern of Alfredo Keller of ASKA Partners, whose recent
poll found that Chavez's lead has diminished significantly
from 50% for Chavez and 37% for Rosales in September, to
52% for Chavez and 48% for Rosales as of last week.
  
    Penn, Schoen & Berland's survey also asked
Venezuelans to rate the job Hugo Chavez is doing as
president.  

    Chavez's rating declined slightly since September, and
the public is now evenly split.  Today, 50% say Chavez is
doing an excellent or good job as president and 50% think
Chavez is doing just a fair or poor job as president.

    Question Text:  How would you rate the job Hugo Chavez
has done is doing as President?  Excellent, Good, Fair or
Poor? 

                                 September           
November

    Excellent / Good                51%                 
50%
    Fair / Poor                     48%                 
50%
    Don't Know                       1%                  
0%

    The poll also asked Venezuelan's whether they believe
the country is headed in right direction or is headed in
the wrong direction.  Dr. Schoen found that sentiment
indicating that the country is headed in the wrong
direction has increased since the last poll, and public
opinion is now evenly split.

    About this Dr. Schoen said, "When 50% of the
people think that you are doing a bad job and almost 50% of
the people say that the country is moving in the wrong
direction, that is a real cause for alarm for any
incumbent.  Simply put, many Venezuelans are clearly
unhappy with how things are going under Hugo Chavez."

    Question Text:  In general, do you think that things in
Venezuela are going in the right direction or are they off
on the wrong track? 

                                                       Sept
      Nov

    Venezuela is moving in the right direction          48%
      47%
    Venezuela is moving on the wrong direction          39%
      46%
    Undecided on this question                          14%
       6%

    Background:

    The Penn, Schoen & Berland poll was a nationwide
poll of 1,000 likely voters.  The administration of the
survey was designed to ensure that survey respondents felt
anonymous.

    This was an independent poll done for a consortium of
business leaders seeking an accurate read of the where the
race stands.

    Interviews were conducted between Monday November 6 and
Friday November 10.  The overall margin of sampling error is
+/ - 3.10%

    Dr. Douglas E. Schoen is one of the world's leading
authorities on measuring public opinion.  Over his 30 year
career that has included work on 6 continents, Dr. Schoen
has worked for Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Ehud Olmert,
Tony Blair, Silvio Berlusconi, Leonel Fernandez, New York
City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, and New Jersey Governor Jon
Corzine.

    Dr. Schoen is one of the founding partners and current
Chairman of Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, which is
based in New York City and Washington, DC.

    NOTE TO EDITORS:

    Dr. Schoen is available for both comment and media
appearances.  He can be reached at 646-206-5955 or by email
at [e-mail].  Spanish speaking media can contact
Marcela Berland at [phone] or at [e-mail].

    For more information, please contact:

     Dr. Schoen
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Spanish speaking media: Marcela Berland
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates