.Chavez pulls out all the tricks for upcoming vote
Venezuela's "Maximum Leader" President Hugo Chavez is acting as if he were fighting for his political life.
In the run-up to Sunday's regional and municipal elections, the 54-year-old former paratrooper is waging a massive political blitz replete with promises, pronouncements and threats.
He has banned some 300 opposition politicians from running, released secretly recorded wiretapped conversations of others and resorted to outright intimidation calling dissidents in his own party "filthy traitors," "sell-outs" and "counter-revolutionaries," while branding opposition politicians "conspirators," and " vile imbeciles."
He has threatened to put anyone who questions the victory of his own candidates into jail and vowed to put tanks into the streets of states that end up in the hands of opponents.
Yet, according to the most recent public opinion polls, Mr. Chavez, who has ruled oil-rich Venezuela since 1998, continues to enjoy the support of 56.9% of the country's voters. He still has four years left in his second six-year term as President.
But Sunday's election will be an important test of Mr. Chavez's support a year after he was humiliated in a constitutional referendum that aimed to remove term limits on the presidency enabling him to become President-for-life.
Opposition candidates now look poised to sweep some of the most important races in Sunday's elections, giving them control of governorships in greater Caracas and in surrounding Miranda state.
While the candidates of Mr. Chavez's United Socialist Party are plagued with accusations of inefficiency, corruption and cronyism, opposition parties competing in 22 gubernatorial races and for 328 mayoral posts may win up to a third of the contests.
In the last regional elections four years ago, Mr. Chavez's supporters won control of 21 of the state governor posts and around d 300 of the mayoral posts.
But now Mr. Chavez's support is eroding, just as domestic inflation and crime rates are soaring and oil prices are dropping.
Voters appear to have grown jaded with promises of "21st-Century Socialism," when they face constant power outages, inflation of 35% and widespread crime, with Venezuela's murder rate jumping to 13,000 killings last year.
A poll released last month by the Caracas-based polling firm Datanalisis found a dozen state gubernatorial races are too close to call, while opposition candidates lead comfortably in four others. Pro-Chavez candidates are ahead in six states.
As a result, Mr. Chavez is pulling out all the stops to produce the victories he feels he needs in order to reintroduce the constitutional amendments required to extend his own political career.
"What's at stake here is the future of the revolution, of socialism, of Venezuela, of the government and the future of Hugo Chavez himself," Mr. Chavez tells crowds of red-shirted supporters, who respond by shouting "Hey, ho, Chavez won't go!"
State-controlled news media have been promoting Mr. Chavez's candidates for months and now pump out at least three broadcasts a day of Chavez campaign rallies, frequently interrupting popular soap operas.
In the state of Barinas, where his father is retiring as governor and his older brother Adan is seeking the governorship, Mr. Chavez has promised to build a new oil refinery, international airport, fertilizer plant, prefabricated housing plant, a railroad line and commune-style towns.
In another state this week, he announced he would build Venezuela's first nuclear reactor, with Russia's help. The deal is expected to be signed next week, when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visits Venezuela.
In his campaign, Mr. Chavez has made a point of attacking Manuel Rosales, the opposition governor of Zulia state, who is stepping down because of term limits and seeking to become mayor of the state capital Maracaibo, Venezuela's second largest city.
Mr. Rosales was Mr. Chavez's chief opponent in the 2006 presidential race.
As part of his campaign, Mr. Chavez has released television ads that purport to feature secretly recorded telephone wiretaps of Mr. Rosales discussing his campaign finances and the purchase of some expensive jewellery.
Mr. Chavez has visited Zulia frequently and repeatedly tells voters the wire taps show Mr. Rosales has pocketed money from a state lottery. He also accused Mr. Rosales of secretly planning to assassinate him.
"He wants to see me dead, but I only want to see him dead politically, and I inform him that he will go to jail because he is a bandit," Mr. Chavez said recently in a speech broadcast live on national television.
This week, Mr. Chavez's vice-president, Ramon Carrizalez, announced Mr. Rosales will probably be arrested Sunday, when he steps down as governor, after he loses immunity from prosecution.
Mr. Chavez has made a show of telling audiences he has already warned the ministries of the interior and justice that Mr. Rosales plans to flee to the United States, where he allegedly "owns many properties of doubtful origin."
If that wasn't enough, Mr. Chavez has also resorted to warning opposition supporters in advance not to protest the election results.
He threatened to take away the broadcast licences of any radio and television station that broadcasts election results ahead of the official results from the National Election Commission and he promised to crush any post-election protests.
"This revolution is a peaceful revolution," he insists. "But it is armed."
National Post
In the run-up to Sunday's regional and municipal elections, the 54-year-old former paratrooper is waging a massive political blitz replete with promises, pronouncements and threats.
He has banned some 300 opposition politicians from running, released secretly recorded wiretapped conversations of others and resorted to outright intimidation calling dissidents in his own party "filthy traitors," "sell-outs" and "counter-revolutionaries," while branding opposition politicians "conspirators," and " vile imbeciles."
He has threatened to put anyone who questions the victory of his own candidates into jail and vowed to put tanks into the streets of states that end up in the hands of opponents.
Yet, according to the most recent public opinion polls, Mr. Chavez, who has ruled oil-rich Venezuela since 1998, continues to enjoy the support of 56.9% of the country's voters. He still has four years left in his second six-year term as President.
But Sunday's election will be an important test of Mr. Chavez's support a year after he was humiliated in a constitutional referendum that aimed to remove term limits on the presidency enabling him to become President-for-life.
Opposition candidates now look poised to sweep some of the most important races in Sunday's elections, giving them control of governorships in greater Caracas and in surrounding Miranda state.
While the candidates of Mr. Chavez's United Socialist Party are plagued with accusations of inefficiency, corruption and cronyism, opposition parties competing in 22 gubernatorial races and for 328 mayoral posts may win up to a third of the contests.
In the last regional elections four years ago, Mr. Chavez's supporters won control of 21 of the state governor posts and around d 300 of the mayoral posts.
But now Mr. Chavez's support is eroding, just as domestic inflation and crime rates are soaring and oil prices are dropping.
Voters appear to have grown jaded with promises of "21st-Century Socialism," when they face constant power outages, inflation of 35% and widespread crime, with Venezuela's murder rate jumping to 13,000 killings last year.
A poll released last month by the Caracas-based polling firm Datanalisis found a dozen state gubernatorial races are too close to call, while opposition candidates lead comfortably in four others. Pro-Chavez candidates are ahead in six states.
As a result, Mr. Chavez is pulling out all the stops to produce the victories he feels he needs in order to reintroduce the constitutional amendments required to extend his own political career.
"What's at stake here is the future of the revolution, of socialism, of Venezuela, of the government and the future of Hugo Chavez himself," Mr. Chavez tells crowds of red-shirted supporters, who respond by shouting "Hey, ho, Chavez won't go!"
State-controlled news media have been promoting Mr. Chavez's candidates for months and now pump out at least three broadcasts a day of Chavez campaign rallies, frequently interrupting popular soap operas.
In the state of Barinas, where his father is retiring as governor and his older brother Adan is seeking the governorship, Mr. Chavez has promised to build a new oil refinery, international airport, fertilizer plant, prefabricated housing plant, a railroad line and commune-style towns.
In another state this week, he announced he would build Venezuela's first nuclear reactor, with Russia's help. The deal is expected to be signed next week, when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visits Venezuela.
In his campaign, Mr. Chavez has made a point of attacking Manuel Rosales, the opposition governor of Zulia state, who is stepping down because of term limits and seeking to become mayor of the state capital Maracaibo, Venezuela's second largest city.
Mr. Rosales was Mr. Chavez's chief opponent in the 2006 presidential race.
As part of his campaign, Mr. Chavez has released television ads that purport to feature secretly recorded telephone wiretaps of Mr. Rosales discussing his campaign finances and the purchase of some expensive jewellery.
Mr. Chavez has visited Zulia frequently and repeatedly tells voters the wire taps show Mr. Rosales has pocketed money from a state lottery. He also accused Mr. Rosales of secretly planning to assassinate him.
"He wants to see me dead, but I only want to see him dead politically, and I inform him that he will go to jail because he is a bandit," Mr. Chavez said recently in a speech broadcast live on national television.
This week, Mr. Chavez's vice-president, Ramon Carrizalez, announced Mr. Rosales will probably be arrested Sunday, when he steps down as governor, after he loses immunity from prosecution.
Mr. Chavez has made a show of telling audiences he has already warned the ministries of the interior and justice that Mr. Rosales plans to flee to the United States, where he allegedly "owns many properties of doubtful origin."
If that wasn't enough, Mr. Chavez has also resorted to warning opposition supporters in advance not to protest the election results.
He threatened to take away the broadcast licences of any radio and television station that broadcasts election results ahead of the official results from the National Election Commission and he promised to crush any post-election protests.
"This revolution is a peaceful revolution," he insists. "But it is armed."
National Post
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