People vote on Chavez revolution
October 8, 2012, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
VENEZUELANS were lining up to vote yesterday in the toughest election President Hugo Chavez has faced so far, with his nearly 14 years in power at stake against rival Henrique Capriles.
Chavez supporters played bugles before dawn to rally loyalists of the president, who is seeking a new six-year term to cement his oil-funded revolution.
Chavez retains a devoted following among the poor, who have propelled him to easy victories in past elections, but Capriles narrowed the gap in opinion polls after a door-to-door campaign.
Weakened by a bout with cancer, the 58-year-old president stepped up his campaign last week, even dancing in the rain at a Caracas rally as he pleaded for another six-year term.
"Good morning, good world! The battle has started!" Chavez wrote on his Twitter account.
From the capital's hillside slums to its ritzier neighborhoods, many Venezuelans arrived at polling stations hours before they opened, heeding the candidates' call for people to vote early.
"I've been here since 2am in order to vote to continue what we have achieved so far," said Richard Lozano, who stood in line at polling station in the sprawling Petare slum.
"I want change, I want peace, I want to be able to calmly walk down the street," said Miguel Villarroel, a hotel administrator who voted for Capriles and blamed Chavez for the country's runaway murder rate.
Capriles, 40, who describes himself as David fighting Goliath, was picked by the opposition in an unprecedented primary election in February. Fragmented during Chavez's rule, the opposition united for once behind his candidacy.
Polling stations were due to remain open as long as there were people waiting to vote.
Chavez supporters played bugles before dawn to rally loyalists of the president, who is seeking a new six-year term to cement his oil-funded revolution.
Chavez retains a devoted following among the poor, who have propelled him to easy victories in past elections, but Capriles narrowed the gap in opinion polls after a door-to-door campaign.
Weakened by a bout with cancer, the 58-year-old president stepped up his campaign last week, even dancing in the rain at a Caracas rally as he pleaded for another six-year term.
"Good morning, good world! The battle has started!" Chavez wrote on his Twitter account.
From the capital's hillside slums to its ritzier neighborhoods, many Venezuelans arrived at polling stations hours before they opened, heeding the candidates' call for people to vote early.
"I've been here since 2am in order to vote to continue what we have achieved so far," said Richard Lozano, who stood in line at polling station in the sprawling Petare slum.
"I want change, I want peace, I want to be able to calmly walk down the street," said Miguel Villarroel, a hotel administrator who voted for Capriles and blamed Chavez for the country's runaway murder rate.
Capriles, 40, who describes himself as David fighting Goliath, was picked by the opposition in an unprecedented primary election in February. Fragmented during Chavez's rule, the opposition united for once behind his candidacy.
Polling stations were due to remain open as long as there were people waiting to vote.
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