www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Chavez wins Venezuela re-election

Chavez wins Venezuela re-election

BBC News

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has won a third term in office, with a clear victory over his nearest rival.

With most ballots counted in the presidential election, Mr Chavez had secured more than 60% of the vote, officials said.

The left-wing president told a cheering crowd in the capital, Caracas, that the poll had been a triumph for his "Bolivarian revolution".

His main opposition rival, Manuel Rosales, has admitted defeat.

He was credited with less than 40% of the vote.

In his concession speech, Mr Rosales said he would continue "fighting for democracy" in the streets if necessary.

Street party

Minutes after the preliminary results were announced, Mr Chavez appeared at the balcony of the presidential palace in Caracas.

It is a bigger party than New Year's Eve
Taxi driver, Caracas

"Today a new era has started, with the expansion of the revolution," he told tens of thousands of jubilant people.

Venezuela was firmly on the track to socialism, he added.

Earlier, Chavez supporters had taken to the streets to celebrate, letting off fireworks and playing pro-Chavez songs over loudspeakers.

"That should be the national anthem," one taxi driver from a shanty town told Reuters news agency as he drove around an affluent area of Caracas.



"People round here do not know what it is like in the slums. It is a bigger party than New Year's Eve."

Sunday's election saw a high turnout and the poll was monitored by hundreds of international observers.

Mr Chavez has secured support from millions of poor Venezuelans by using oil wealth to boost social programmes.

The president - an ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro - won elections in 1998 and 2000.

Another six-year term with a strong majority will give him a clear mandate to scrap presidential term limits, analysts say.

His critics accuse him of concentrating power in his own hands and squandering Venezuela's resources.

Mr Rosales, governor of the oil-rich western state of Zulia, argued in his campaign that the country's long-term interests lay in free-market policies and attracting foreign investment.

It's certainly good, that the candidate of the big money and the western interests, Manuel Rosales, has lost the election. President Hugo Chavez is leading Venezuela through an unprecedented reform, not without errors as it has many, but a reform that will limit the power of the international corporations and restore the soveraignty that the Venezuelan people lost during years of neo-liberal "governments".

If you like what you see in Cuba, rejoice: it's coming to Venezuela and Bolivia!

I believe that was a democratic election in Venezuela- I dont think Castro has democratic elections certified as such internationally??

I didn't say it was there yet, but rather that it is coming. I would like to be proven wrong, but Castro is Chavez' mentor. A man is known by the company he keeps, and theirs is no casual acquaintance. Remember that Hitler was also democratically elected, but he made quick work of any law that didn't serve his purposes.

Chavez is reportedly working on dismantling the term limits which would require him to step down after this term. In my view, the rule of law is unlikely to be enforced in opposition to his will. Time will tell.

you mistake the historical circumstances in comparing the democratic election of Hitler to Chavez- the historical circumstances in Germany were quite different and more choatic in 1932-33 and how Hitler quickly after Jan 1933 destroyed political opposition and used mass terror- this is not the case in Venezuela- so this comparison does not hold water I'm afraid, historically even in comparison with Castro's rise to power in 1958-59 and consolidation of power. I would suggest going back and reading about these very different historical periods for some perspective.
Despite the individual mistakes of Mr Chavez, obviously the majority among the population especially among the most deprived feel Chavez is best poised to bring greater social equality and justice. Time indeed will tell but it is too early to make such gross generalizations about different historical eras.

Wow. My allusion to Hitler was only a reminder that a democratically elected leader doesn't always leave in place the laws that got him into power: not an attempt to construct a historical parallel between Hitler and Chavez.

Nor is my reference to Castro an assertion that Chavez will use the same methods in a totally different environment. I simply worry about their relationship, and Chavez' unabashed discipleship of that hateful man.

I certainly do not dispute Chavez' popularity. May he fulfill all your hopes, and none of my expectations!