Andean Group - September 2012 (ISSN 1741-4466)

Some 18m Venezuelans will vote in presidential elections on 7 October without having witnessed a single debate between the five candidates. In a country where about 25% of the population still lives below the poverty line, they are being offered a stark choice between a benign, paternalistic socialist State and an avaricious, neo-liberal administration run by an ‘imperial’ capitalist elite, according to President Hugo Chávez of the ruling Partido Unido Socialista de Venezuela (PSUV). Chávez expects a “knock-out” victory of 10m votes — an ambitious target given that the turnout typically averages 11m. While the main opposition coalition and its allies nominally won the last national election (Legislative, September 2009) with 51.3% of the popular vote, most (of the wildly varying) polls have indicated a clear lead for Chávez, who has demi-god status among his core base of supporters. For them, voting Chávez is a religion, not a political choice. But, as the past year has made clear, Chávez is not immortal. And not even the staunchest government supporters really buy the idea of ‘Chavismo sin Chávez’.

End of preview - This article contains approximately 1361 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

• Subscribe
• Sign up for a one-time, 14-day trial