adminMost opinion polls give his protege, acting President Nicolas Maduro, a strong lead thanks to Chavez’s endorsement and the surge of grief and sympathy over his death from cancer last month.
Maduro, a 50-year-old former bus driver, is promising to be faithful to Chavez’s socialist policies and he has copied his former boss’ fierce rhetoric throughout the campaign.
“Do you want one of the rancid bourgeois to win?” Maduro shouted at one of his closing rallies.
“Or do you want a worker, a son of Chavez, a patriot and a revolutionary? You decide!”
Waving posters of his late boss, the crowd sang back the campaign slogan: “Chavez, I swear to you, I’ll vote for Maduro!”
Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles, the 40-year-old governor of Miranda state, says Venezuelans need a change from the divisive politics of Chavez’s 14-year rule, and he is hoping a late surge will turn things in his favour.
At stake is control of the world’s biggest crude oil reserves, economic aid to a host of left-leaning governments around Latin America, and the legacy of “Chavismo” socialism.
At each of his campaign events, Maduro has played a video of Chavez giving him his blessing in an emotional last speech to the OPEC nation of 29 million people before he succumbed to cancer on March 5.
If Maduro wins, he will face big challenges from day one. — Reuters.
Online Reporter