George Bush and Hugo Chávez have one thing in common, as far as the Latin American public is concerned. They are viewed equally negatively. Only Fidel Castro received lower marks among the ten leaders rated by the publics of 18 countries in the latest Latinobarómetro survey.

The portrait of Latin America that emerges from the poll is of a region whose citizens, overall, place themselves at the center of the political spectrum, despite the victory of leftist candidates in some recent presidential elections.

Latinobarómetro, based in Santiago, Chile, interviewed at least 1,000 people in each of the 18 countries polled (20,234 in all) between Oct. 3 and Nov. 5. It has conducted similar polls for the past decade, beginning with an eight-country poll in 1995.

The findings about the region’s ideological leanings indicate that public opinion tends toward the center, shunning either leftwing or rightwing positions.

Latinobarómetro Executive Director Marta Lagos said that such centrism had remained fairly constant in recent years, adding that generally Latin Americans “identify the left with change and the right with the status quo.”