Venezuela prepares for elections

In less than 48 hours local elections will be held in Venezuela as voters gage their support for President Hugo Chavez.

According to recent polls most Venezuelans back Chavez as he has four years left in his second term. Yet some reports said that opponents are expected to make electoral gains with one cited poll claiming that Chavez’ party will lose approximately one-third of the states. As a result, Chavez has been actively campaigning for his allies and has also been accused by his detractors of campaign intimidation.

Several of the electoral races have been a family affair for Chavez. In the state of Barinas Chavez’ older brother is running for governor, a post currently held by his father. Meanwhile, Chavez’ ex-wife Marisabel Rodriguez is running for local office and has not shied from critiquing her former husband:

"They've tried to minimize our candidacy, make it seem as if we don't exist ... because the government is not interested in having it go forward ... (But) the people accepted our proposal immediately and spontaneously," she added.

According to Rodriguez, "radical sectors" of the governing party have tried to demonize her as a traitor "without knowing that many people disappointed by Chavism are in the same situation as me because of so many unfulfilled promises."

Image- AP (“A public bus stops next to a campaign poster depicting Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, left, and Aristobulo Isturiz, candidate for Mayor of Caracas for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, PSUV…”)
Sources- Reuters, Latin American Herald Tribune, kansascity.com, National Post, Bloomberg, Scotsman.com