Since the beginning of the eighties the political surveys in Latin America have a central role in the process of democratization. Almost everyday the main newspapers and tv broadcastings of each country inform us the results of studies that focuses on the political development of the new democracies. Most of what we know about these democracies is due to these studies. But what are the consequences of this role? This article argues that the public opinion surveys define central interactions between the political elites and the citizenship in these countries, and that they have a central role in their democratization processes.
public opinion; survey research; democratization process; Latin América