The most complex and extensive public opinion survey ever carried out in Cape Verde reveals where Cape Verdeans stand on democracy and its institutions. The courts, police and teachers, for example, are the entities that inspire the most confidence in the country’s citizens. Among political organs, the government (consisting of the prime minister and cabinet ministers) enjoys the highest level of general popular prestige. A Semana shows the results of the joint project carried out by Afrobarometer (USA) and Afrosondagem (Cape Verde) and which provides a self-portrait of the Cape Verdean populace.

Cape Verdeans remain a surprising and often contradictory and ambivalent people. They like living in a democracy, but distrust the market economy. Although they believe that not everything should depend on the government, in their understanding it is the government’s job to solve most of the country’s problems, given that “the government is like a father who should take care of his children.” Cape Verdeans see themselves as African but have little confidence in African immigration, since in their understanding immigrants from the continent bring little or no development to the country.

In short, these are but a few of the many conclusions drawn from the most extensive study of public opinion ever carried out in Cape Verde on where the country’s citizens stand on a series of themes, ranging from democracy to national identity and including the economy, education, corruption, etc. The study took place in the second semester of 2003, within the framework of the accompaniment work US-based Afrobarometer has been carrying out in a series of African countries, having as its partner Cape Verde’s Afrobarometer.

In the group of 13 countries studied by Afrobarometer, Cape Verde stands out for its exceptionality. In contrast with the others, it possesses an ethnically and culturally homogenous population (another example of this is Botswana) and no ethnic or armed conflict has ever taken place inside its territory. Indeed, violence in general is condemned by most of those surveyed, although 3% admit its use as long as it is for a “just cause.” Another important element is the fact that Cape Verdeans defend that “conflicts should not lead to the division of the country.”

In spite of the well-known problems of survival, and notwithstanding the weight of emigration, Cape Verdeans are gifted with a high level of self-esteem, for they would refuse to be any other people in the world except Cape Verdean. Lovers of law and order, securing and maintaining employment is the main concern of the inhabitants of the islands in their day-to-day lives. Private property is highly valued and private initiative well-regarded. In order to educate their children well, Cape Verdeans do not mind paying school tuition fees.

Africans
In the search for other characteristics of identity among Cape Verdeans, the study does away with a number of myths, some of which arose or were nurtured based on prejudices or empirical carry-overs from the nation’s elite. As such, faced with the old and well-worn question of whether we are African or European, 81% of those surveyed responded that we are African and only 4% that we are European. And whoever thinks that the most significant responses are concentrated in the island of Santiago is wrong. In actuality, Fogo (86%) and São Vicente (84%) are the islands with the highest percentages of inhabitants who consider themselves African, ahead of Santiago (81%) and Santo Antão (78%).

In the same domain, Cape Verdeans deny that discrimination against foreigners exists in Cape Verde. Only 1% admit to this fact. For the average Cape Verdean, discrimination in Cape Verde is fundamentally socio-economic - that is, it is felt against poor persons (37%) or because of political views (17%). Only 5% point to skin color as a cause of discrimination in the country.

And, furthermore, no less surprising is Cape Verdeans’ perception of the traditional rivalry between “badius” and “sampadjudos.” Most of those queried believe there is no rivalry between these two demographic groups and, if it exists, it is “weak or moderate.” “Only 20% believe that there is major or significant rivalry” between badius and sampadjudos, in the same manner that the phenomenon is more acute in Praia and in Mindelo, with this type of sentiment greater in Mindelo than in the capital. The least regionally biased island is Santo Antão (54% anti-regionalist), followed by Fogo (41%).

Nevertheless, in the general context of the archipelago, the feeling that there are islands that benefit from government policies more than others in terms of development is strong. Santo Antão and Fogo feel “discriminated against by the central government,” while in Santiago “the opinion that the government is fair and that there is no discrimination among the islands predominates.”

In political terms, Cape Verdeans nurture the idea that their country really is a democracy. Only 6% believe the contrary. Even so, 41% understand Cape Verde to be “a democracy with major problems.” In fact, in general, 77% of those queried see the country as a “democracy with minor problems.” And when confronted with non-democratic systems, the majority (66%) claims to prefer democracy to other types of government. “Citizens are critical in relation to their system, but embrace democracy as the best form of governing,” the study concludes.

And, in regards to the institutions of the Republic, the government (understood as the prime minister and cabinet ministers) enjoys the highest level of confidence among citizens. 41% of them trust the government a little, while 11% trust the government very much, against 29% who do not trust it at all. In relation to the National Assembly, the national legislative body, 39% have some confidence in it, 11% have a high level of confidence, and, on the opposite extreme, 26% of the populace has no confidence in it. In third place come the country’s municipal chamber presidents (mayors): 40% of those inquired have little trust in them, against 9% who trust them very much and 26% who do not trust them at all.

The President of the Republic, the governing party (PAICV) and the main opposition party (MpD) are among the institutions in the study with the lowest levels of public confidence. As such, 38% of those surveyed said they trust the president little, 11% trust him very much and 31% do not trust him at all. Concerning the country’s two main political parties, 33% of those surveyed said they do not trust the PAICV, while 38% trust it little and 10% trust it very much. 31% said they do not trust the MpD, 36% trust it little and 11% trust it very much.

As far as governing is concerned, the study makes it clear that only a third of the country’s citizens seem satisfied with “the government’s performance with respect to economic issues,” with the situation equally negative with respect “to the government’s capacity to guarantee the law.” “The evaluation of the government only improves with regards to health, educational and housing issues. In this case, nearly 50% of the population positively evaluates the government’s capacity to offer basic services. Thus the base of the weak evaluation of the government is its inability to deal adequately with economic and public safety issues,” the document concludes.

But, even so, although they consider that the government is demonstrating poor performance in some areas, most of those queried “still believe” that it may be able to “solve the country’s problems.” In this case, only a third of the population shows signs of having lost hope in the effectiveness of the government. But in general, advises the study, the population seems divided: “two-thirds support democracy both specifically and generally; one-third has consistently been extremely critical in regards to the government and open to changes in the political system.”

Skepticism in regard to politics is a phenomenon that does not appear to affect Cape Verdeans. The vast majority is interested in politics, with 49% “very interested.” People seek to become informed of what is happening through the media, with radio being the source of information of most people (35%), followed by television (24%) and newspapers (17%). Nevertheless, in terms of participation in political activities, involvement is average. The situation is the same or worse on the social participation level. “Very few Cape Verdeans are members, active or not, of groups such as unions, professional associations and community development associations.”

Most citizens tend to see political activity as something complicated and, consequently, inaccessible to the majority of people. Voters rarely contact their political representatives, whose identity, indeed, they seldom know. During election campaigns, involvement may be great, but once the elections have taken place, there occurs a sort of furling up of banners and dampening of the popular enthusiasm surrounding politics.

Regarding corruption, judges and magistrates, teachers and school principles are those who enjoy the highest levels of trust among Cape Verdeans in day-to-day situations. The courts and the police are two other entities equally valued by Cape Verdeans. Also regarding corruption, people in general avoid making judgments surrounding the subject. They claim “not to know” or “not to have heard enough on the subject,” the survey notes.

A source of dispute among political forces, the economic sector continues to cause a certain level of division among Cape Verdeans, who prove hesitant as to what type of economy should prevail in Cape Verde, private or state. The study says: “Indeed, a fourth of the population prefers centralized administration of the nation’s economy to an economy open to the market. Together with those who do not care (14%) and those who do not know (19%), this makes up nearly half of the population.”

The confusion is repeated regarding the State’s role in the economy: “Although most Cape Verdeans agree that individuals are responsible for their own well-being, there is a substantial part of the populace awaiting incisive intervention from the government in the improvement of the level of living. In addition, the government is very much associated with the image of a father responsible for caring for his children (the population). This indicates that Cape Verdeans believe that they have very little control over the governments’ actions and that governments are autonomous.”

As such, Cape Verdeans continue to believe that the government should protect them from “the manipulation of private interests,” in the same manner that it should continue to be the country’s main employer. In general, they refuse measures that could increase unemployment, which is why they show themselves favorable to actions that can solve their most immediate troubles. “In order to achieve this,” notes the inquiry, “the intervention of the government is not only desirable, it is necessary.”

As such, and indicating that they demonstrate a high degree of solidarity, Cape Verdeans defend that it is preferable “to have low wages so that everyone can have work” (94%) than to have “higher wages, even if some remain unemployed (5%).” In terms of “market values,” and in respect to education, the majority (69%) believes it is “better to increase the quality of teaching, even if it is necessary to pay tuition fees.”

Democrats
Paradoxically, in spite of the doubts regarding the virtues of the market economy, Cape Verdeans “do not want to abandon the economic reforms,” even though 68% of them feel that the “reform policies affect the majority of the population.” For these policies to be successful, 53% concede that it is necessary to “accept hardships now,” even though the gap between the rich and the poor is growing.

From the global analysis of the results obtained, the authors of the study conclude that Cape Verdeans are “committed democrats.” In other words, they feel good in this type of system; in general, they believe that the law is respected and trust the institutions that apply them (police and courts). In general, people also feel safe, and reject violence and corruption. Judges, magistrates, teachers and school principles are considered “free of the temptation to practice corruption.”
José Vicente Lopes


“Badius” are the natives of the island of Santiago, while “Sampadjudo” is the term used to designate a Cape Verdean hailing from one of the other 8 inhabited islands, although in practice it often refers to those from the windward (Barlavento) group of islands. (translator’s note)

Source: asemana.cv