Courtesy of: the Associated Press

With four months until the elections, presidential candidates Hugo Chávez and Henrique Capriles have taken the first steps to officially register their candidacies. A new poll released last week shows that the race is nearly tied. Capriles, meanwhile, has been campaigning furiously, going house to house in Venezuela’s poorer regions, wearing bright shirts that his supporters also don in shows of solidarity. Capriles presents his plans to solve the drug problems and violence that plague the country. Though the campaign has begun, Chávez has been conspicuous only in his absence, as his party essentially runs his campaign without him. He is instead trying to win votes by pumping billions of borrowed bolivars into the economy. All the while, his silence and the mystery surrounding his illness continue to have analysts wondering what is in store for the country’s future.

Chavez Registers Presidential Candidacy Via Internet, Bloomberg

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez carried out the first step of registering his candidacy for October presidential elections via Internet today, an electoral official said.

New poll has Venezuela’s Chávez still in lead, The Miami Herald

With less than five months to go before Venezuelan elections, President Hugo Chávez is leading in a new poll, but the race remains tight amid doubts about his health.

In Venezuela, casual shirts worn by opposition’s presidential candidate a boon for seamstress, The Washington Post

In a home with bare brick walls and a zinc roof, a 58-year-old seamstress with short, curly hair is sewing shirts for a young politician who she thinks has a good shot at unseating Hugo Chavez as president of Venezuela.

Capriles vows to fight against drug trafficking, El Universal

Henrique Capriles, the presidential candidate for opposition umbrella group Unified Democratic Panel (MUD), on Wednesday visited Achaguas, in central Apure state, where he received many complaints about alleged drug trafficking in the area.

Capriles: The country will elect between life and death on October 7, El Universal

In the opinion of Henrique Capriles Radonski, the candidate for opposition Unified Democratic Panel (MUD), in 14 years of government, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez has eluded the issue of insecurity.

Chavez absent as team oils campaign machine, AFP

In a crowded square of the biggest shantytown in Caracas, President Hugo Chavez’s reelection campaign wheels are spinning. But a bit like a movie missing its star, the president is not on the trail.

Venezuela Lawmakers Approve Extra Spending Ahead of Election, Businessweek

The finance committee of Venezuela’s National Assembly approved an extra 5.9 billion bolivars ($1.4 billion) in spending this year, in part to fund an increase in the minimum wage five months before the presidential election.

Hugo Chávez’s Terminal Mystery Cancer And Venezuela’s Looming Power Vacuum, International Business Times

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez appeared vigorous and in high spirits, wearing a track suit like his Socialist comrade Fidel Castro, in front of television cameras as he stepped off the plane in Caracas earlier this month.