This study measures whether, and to what extent, mass popular constituencies exist for democratic and market reforms within six African countries. The “Washington consensus” posits that democratic and market reforms are highly compatible. However, surveys of public attitudes suggest that the overwhelming support for democracy as the preferred system of government in these countries is independent of and far outstrips that for structural adjustment programs. At the same time, the level of satisfaction with how democratic systems actually function appears to be closely linked to satisfaction with economic reform. Support for specific economic adjustment policies varies widely, but overall the level of satisfaction with outcomes is quite low, in part because of the widespread perception that adjustment policies benefit only the well-connected, resulting in widening gaps between rich and poor. These perceived failures of economic reform and the resulting dissatisfaction with government performance may endanger long-term satisfaction with and support for democracy. This reverses the conventional argument about the tension between political and economic reform, which suggests that democracy’s popular pressures make tough economic reform difficult. Rather, democracy may be undermined if economic adjustment programs are only partially implemented and the public perceives that benefits are accruing unevenly.