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Aug
10
2012
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 8/10/12

iht 0810 latitude toro art3 blog480 In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 8/10/12

Courtesy of: Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters

With less than 60 days before the elections, opposition candidate Henrique Capriles’ team says polls show him leading President Hugo Chávez. The latest scandal in the campaign is over Capriles’ hat, which the National Electoral Council (CNE) says violates campaign laws concerning the use of the flag. The CNE ignores Chávez’s rampant use of similar imagery in his campaign. Chávez draws criticism for accusing Capriles, the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, of having ties to Nazi groups. Meanwhile, excessive election-year spending by Chávez’s government has investors predicting a currency devaluation in the coming months. Several outlets report that the country’s oil industry, despite possessing the world’s largest reserves, has been crippled by mismanagement and poor policy. Chávez’s ties with Iran and Hezbollah provoke worries about potential threats to U.S. security.

Venezuela’s Opposition Says Capriles Leading Chavez in Polls, Bloomberg

Venezuela’s opposition said today that its candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski is surging ahead of President Hugo Chavez in opinion polls for the Oct. 7 election.

Venezuela Presidential Race Rocked by Baseball Cap, Fox News

The latest issue to put Venezuela’s presidential rivals at odds with each other? A baseball cap. At the center of their latest dispute is a cap emblazoned with the colors of Venezuela’s flag that opposition candidate Henrique Capriles frequently wears at campaign rallies ahead of the country’s Oct. 7 election.

A Feather in Capriles’s Cap, International Herald Tribune

Venezuela’s campaign for the presidential contest of Oct. 7 descended into farce last week when election officials chastised the opposition for abusing campaign rules.

Venezuela candidate slams Chavez’s Nazi accusations, AFP

Venezuela’s leading opposition candidate — whose grandmother is a Holocaust survivor — on Tuesday slammed President Hugo Chavez’s accusations that he is tied to Nazi groups.

P&G Bracing for ‘Large’ Venezuela Devaluation After Election, Bloomberg Businessweek

Venezuela may carry out a “large” devaluation after October elections, according to Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) (PG), the world’s largest consumer products company.

The Venezuelan Elections: How Can PDVSA Recover?,Journal of Energy Security

The Venezuelan oil industry can be pictured as a toothless tiger resting on its haunches before a huge slice of raw meat.

Venezuelan cheap petrol backfires on economy, Financial Times

The perverse effects of Venezuela’s cheap petrol policy can be seen everywhere in the country.

Iran’s influence in Venezuela: Washington should worry, Miami Herald

The same week that President Obama downplayed the threat to U.S. security from Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, a high-level delegation from Hezbollah was visiting Caracas and Havana. Ammar Musawi, head of Hezbollah International Department, praised Cuba as a model on how to oppose “imperialist hegemony, arrogance, and plunder.”

 
Aug
6
2012
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What’s Next Venezuela Election Update: August 6, 2012

Capriles31 300x165 What’s Next Venezuela Election Update: August 6, 2012

Courtesy of: Meridith Kohut for The New York Times

Just two months before the Venezuelan elections, a new poll shows opposition candidate Henrique Capriles with a slight leader over President Hugo Chávez. Analysts say the deciding factor in the election will be disillusioned voters, whom Capriles appears to be winning over with his door-to-door campaign, which has visited 100 villages in only 29 days. Chávez has spent an unprecedented amount of government money on social programs and handouts over the past year to try to persuade voters, which many economists say will result in a currency devaluation after the election. The latest controversy in the election is over Capriles’ hat, which bears the colors of the Venezuelan flag, and is being used illegally according to the Venezuelan electoral council, who has made no mention of Chávez’s use of the flag in his campaign. Meanwhile, voters are worried about a new system that may track their votes, and the opposition reiterates the need for witnesses in remote and small areas to ensure a fair election.

Venezuela’s Opposition Says Capriles Leading Chavez in Polls, Bloomberg

Venezuela’s opposition said today that its candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski is surging ahead of President Hugo Chavez in opinion polls for the Oct. 7 election.

Venezuela’s Elusive Voters, New York Times

“How do you imagine the voter who will decide this election?” It’s a crucial question ahead of any vote, and the person asking me has had plenty of reason to be mulling it over.

Capriles visits 100 villages in 29 days of electoral campaign,El Universal

Villa de Cura, in central Aragua state, became the 100th village visited by Henrique Capriles Radonski, the presidential candidate of opposition umbrella group Unified Democratic Panel (MUD), in 29 days of electoral campaign.

Economists See Heavy Post-Election Hangover In Venezuela, Wall Street Journal

From free housing and food to straight up cash for senior citizens and pregnant mothers, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been showering his constituency through a slew of social programs over the last year to shore up support ahead of his hotly contested October re-election bid.

Chavez Spending Boom Seen Spurring 31% Devaluation Post-Election, Bloomberg Businessweek

Venezuela will devalue the bolivar for the third time in as many years after October elections to help narrow a budget deficit swelled by President Hugo Chavez’s spending binge, according to a survey of analysts.

Venezuela Presidential Race Rocked by Baseball Cap, Fox News

The latest issue to put Venezuela’s presidential rivals at odds with each other? A baseball cap. At the center of their latest dispute is a cap emblazoned with the colors of Venezuela’s flag that opposition candidate Henrique Capriles frequently wears at campaign rallies ahead of the country’s Oct. 7 election.

Thumbprint ID system stirs fears among voters ahead of Venezuela presidential vote, Associated Press

With President Hugo Chavez in his tightest re-election race yet, some of his opponents are warning that the use of thumbprint readers at Venezuelan ballot boxes could scare away voters, adding to fears about the fairness of the Oct. 7 vote.

López stresses the importance of electoral witnesses in October vote, El Universal

Leopoldo López, coordinator of opposition campaign team Comando Venezuela, said Thursday that the team led by presidential candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski has been working to guarantee the presence of qualified electoral witnesses in every polling center.

 
Aug
1
2012
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Who’s Next Venezuela: Another Potential Successor

Adán Chávez, The President’s Brother

adanchavez0707 Who’s Next Venezuela: Another Potential Successor

Courtesy of: Jesús Contreras

An important influence on his younger brother’s politics and close confidant of the president, many believe that Adán Chávez may be Hugo Chávez’s choice to replace him as president.

Although Hugo receives most of the credit, the elder Adán has already had a considerable impact on the policies and ideology of his brother’s “Bolivarian Revolution.” Trained as a physicist and a former university professor, it was Adán who introduced Hugo to the political thought that has underpinned his government.

Hugo has not mentioned his brother as a possible successor, but Adán would be a logical choice, and one that would follow in the footsteps of Hugo’s mentor Fidel Castro, who passed the reins of communist Cuba to his brother Raúl in 2008 when he became too sick to run the country.

Adan also has the support of the Castros because of his staunch socialist ideology, which is often even further to the left of his brother. But he is seen as an outsider by Venezuela’s military, which continues to wield considerable influence in the country.

Like Elías Jaua, Nicolas Maduro, and Diosdado Cabello, Adán has become more prominent as his brother receded from the spotlight due to his cancer. In fact, as Hugo Chávez quietly recovered in Cuba after his initial surgery in 2011, it was Adán who occupied the political void created by his brother’s absence. But Adán has not demonstrated any presidential ambitions, at least not publically. With statements such as “we have Chávez for the long run” and “our people are telling the President that we are with you forever,” he has both shown support for his brother and attempted to squelch rumors about a plan for succession. He even appeared next to Hugo during his official registration as a candidate in June of 2012.

Adán does have experience in government, both in his current position as the governor of Barinas, and in his brother’s cabinet as the Minister of Education. This could provide for a more stable transition in the event of Chávez’s death, as Governor Chávez could likely readily take charge of the government’s various bureaucracies.

Hugo may, for obvious reasons, want a trusted member of his family to replace him, and in that case Adán is the most likely candidate (he has another brother, Aníbal José, who lacks Adán’s prominence). Although there are none more loyal to the socialist cause than Adán, he lacks the charisma and ability to connect with Venezuela’s people that is one of Hugo’s greatest strengths. Indeed, his public appearances are noted for being especially dry. Perhaps it is unsurprising, then, that polls show he is one of the least popular candidates to replace Hugo.