Opposition finds figurehead who can topple Hugo Chavez

Published on Tuesday 14 February 2012 00:51

LATIN America’s most famous political face might just have a real challenger for the first time – a 39-year-old state governor whose victory in a primary this weekend sees Venezuela’s opposition united behind one candidate for the first time.

Even after 13 years in office, president Hugo Chavez remains a hero to many of his supporters and maintains a visceral connection to a significant segment of the poor in Venezuela. He will also use the full powers of his government and a bonanza of oil-funded public spending to seek victory in the 7 October election.

In order to compete, Henrique Capriles – who won the primary with 62.2 per cent of the polls – will need to win over voters who were pro-Chavez in the past, but who have grown disillusioned with the government, are appalled at the rate of violent crime and sick of mounting inflation.

“I don’t want to be the leader of the world, I want to be the leader of Venezuela,” Mr Capriles told a roaring crowd at his victory rally on Sunday, pointedly trying to show a difference with Mr Chavez and his fiercely anti-US global ambitions.

A priority for Mr Capriles will be maintaining unity in a historically unruly opposition that has failed to remove Mr Chavez via the ballot box or street protests. Public bearhugs with the four candidates he defeated at the weekend was a good start.

The opposition’s ranks range from a newly-dominant young wing embodied by Mr Capriles seeking to win over voters in Chavez strongholds, to upper-crust blue-bloods preferring to openly confront the president.

Mr Capriles’ strength lies in promising change from an administration that has let Venezuela become more dangerous than some war zones, spurred one of the world’s highest inflation rates, and left it suffering from shortages of basic products such as cooking oil and milk.

Recent polls show Mr Chavez, 57, would beat Mr Capriles by more than 20 percentage points, but that lead is likely to decline as Mr Capriles starts his presidential campaign and the four losing opposition candidates line up behind him.

The centre-left Mr Capriles has cautiously avoided direct attacks on Mr Chavez – who is still recovering from cancer – andvowed to leave in place the social “missions” the president has created since 2003.

“He has shown great managerial ability,” said supporter Carlos Luis Meza, 32, in reference to Mr Capriles’ widely-praised governorship of Miranda state.

Diego Prada, a 23-year-old marketing manager, said he thinks Mr Capriles’ inclusive approach offers a much better shot against Mr Chavez than that of other competitors who have taken a hard line against the president. “People are tired of so much confrontation,” Mr Prada said. And Mr Capriles, he said, offers “a message of unity”.

State media commentators immediately went after Mr Capriles upon his victory, saying he was the candidate of a wealthy elite who did not represent Venezuelans. Mr Capriles’ aides expect a dirty campaign.

“Capriles has people behind him, no doubt,” said diehard Chavez supporter Eriberto Hurtado in a poor neighbourhood of Caracas. “But he has a past and we will show his dirty laundry.”