Chavez re-elected for a fourth term

Tuesday, 9 October 2012 00:15 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Venezuela’s socialist President Hugo Chavez comfortably won re-election on Sunday, quashing the opposition’s best chance at unseating him in 14 years and cementing himself as a dominant figure in modern Latin American history.

Chavez’s new six-year term begins on January 10. Chavez’s victory will extend his rule of the OPEC member state to two decades, though he is recovering from cancer and the possibility of a recurrence hangs over him.

Jubilant supporters poured onto the streets of Caracas to celebrate the victory of a man who has near-Messianic status among Venezuela’s poor. And there was relief too among leftist allies around the region – from Cuba to Bolivia – who rely on his oil-financed generosity.

“I’m celebrating with a big heart,” said Mary Reina, a 62-year-old Chavez supporter who lives in the hillside slum where the president cast his vote. “Chavez is the hope of the people and of Latin America.”

The 58-year-old Chavez took 54.42 per cent of the vote, with 90 per cent of the ballots counted, compared with 44.97 per cent for young opposition candidate Henrique Capriles, the electoral authority said.

Chavez’s fans partied and set off fireworks in the streets. A subdued and tired-looking Capriles accepted defeat in a speech at his campaign headquarters.

“I hope a political movement that has been in power for 14 years understands that almost half the country does not agree with it,” Capriles told crestfallen supporters.

Since taking power in 1999, the flamboyant former soldier has become a global flag bearer of “anti-imperialism,” gleefully baiting the US government while befriending leaders from Iran to Belarus whom the West views with suspicion.

Highlighting the relief among leftist allies in Latin America, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez wrote via Twitter: “Your victory is our victory! And the victory of South America and the Caribbean!”

At home, casting himself as an heir to independence hero Simon Bolivar, Chavez has poured billions of dollars in oil revenues into anti-poverty programs, and skillfully used his humble roots and folksy oratory to build a close connection with the masses.

But his victory was considerably slimmer than his win of 25 percentage points in 2006, reflecting anger at his failure to fix basic problems such as crime, blackouts, and corruption.

Record turnout of 80 per cent will boost Chavez’s democratic credentials, though critics said his use of state resources made a mockery of fairness during the campaign. Attention will now shift to Chavez’s plans for a new six-year term at the helm of South America’s biggest oil exporter.