AFP/Caracas

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has suffered a sharp decline in support after a turbulent year in office, with 60% of his countrymen disapproving of his performance, a poll out yesterday showed.
The poll by the private firm Datanalisis also found that eight in 10 Venezuelans believe their country is going in a negative direction, and nearly 60% think Maduro should leave office before his terms ends.
Months of street protests, inflation near 60%, widespread shortages of basic goods and soaring crime have immersed the oil-rich Opec member in an unresolved political and economic crisis since Maduro succeeded Hugo Chavez in mid-April 2013.
The poll results, which were published yesterday by the newspaper El Universal, were drawn from a survey of 1,300 people between March 31 and April 20.
Asked “How do you evaluate the country’s situation at the current time,” a third of respondents to the Datanalisis survey said it was “very bad,” another third that it was “bad,” and 12.7% “regular to bad.”
The poll found public support for Maduro’s performance has dropped sharply, with 59.2% disapproving of it, compared to a 44.6% in November.
Six in 10 Venezuelans (59.1)% said Maduro should leave office before his term ends in 2019. Of those surveyed, 39% said he should leave this year and another 20.1% in a recall election in 2016.
Just 19.7% said he should finish his mandate.
For the first time, Venezuelans placed the state of the economy as their top concern ahead of crime, with 32.5% citing food shortages.
Nearly 32% blamed Maduro for the country’s problems; 17.2% blamed “the people,” and 13.8% his cabinet ministers.
Between 60% and 70% described both the government and the broader situation as “unstable.”