The analysis of this book relies on seven separate data bases collected by ­different pollsters in Nicaragua and Argentina between 1996 and 2003. Of those seven data bases, five were public opinion polls and two were elite opinion polls. This appendix describes these data sources. Of the five public opinion polls described here, one was a Latinobarometer survey that included both Nicaragua and Argentina. The other four public opinion surveys were national or neighborhood samples of public opinion, two each in Nicaragua and Argentina. The two elite opinion surveys were directed at current legislators who held seats in the national legislatures of these two countries at the time that our study took place.

THE 1997 AND 2007 LATINOBAROMETER SURVEYS

Sections of Chapters 4, 5, and 6, as well as the final paragraphs of Chapter 7, draw on data collected by the continent-wide survey known as the Latinobarometer. These data are publically available. As it is explained in the text, the late 1990s was a period of regime change in both Nicaragua and Argentina. Public opinion surveys collected then were most appropriate to uncover public attitudes toward different types of governmental regimes. Because it matched in terms of timing with the two national surveys (discussed below), the year 1997 represented an ideal year for using the Latinobarometer data. The 1997 Latinobarometer data were collected by local pollsters and supervised by FLACSO, Chile.