CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)  President Hugo Chavez remains popular among nearly two-thirds of Venezuelans after winning a February referendum removing limits on re-election, and he's feeling emboldened, a private pollster said Tuesday. The socialist leader's popularity stood at 59% in March, just slightly down from the 61% recorded in February, according to a March 20-30 survey of 2,000 people by the Caracas-based pollster Datanalisis. Results of the survey, which had a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points, weren't unveiled until this week because a group of businesses that paid for the poll had not authorized its release to the public. Datanalisis said the latest figure is up from 51% in January, 2008. Datanalisis Director Luis Vicente Leon said he believes the president's popularity ratings appears to have prompted him to enact more radical policies, including the government's recent moves to seize control of some privately owned food processing plants. "The radicalization process is the child of the increase in popularity," Leon said. Chavez ordered the expropriation of a rice-processing plant owned by Minneapolis-based Cargill Inc. in March and National Guard troops occupied another rice processing plant owned by a Polar, one of Venezuela's largest companies, that same month. The takeovers are part of a broader initiative aimed at stemming double-digit inflation by ensuring that companies do not flout regulations that require price-controlled items to comprise at least 70% of their output. Nationwide inflation reached 31% last year — the highest in Latin America. Venezuela's budget predicts inflation will be 15% for 2009. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more