election CARACAS -- Hugo Chávez proved his power from beyond the grave Sunday, as his handpicked successor narrowly won office in a contested vote that many saw as a tribute to the fallen socialist firebrand.
Nicolás Maduro, 50, a long-time ally of the late president, narrowly edged out rival Henrique Capriles in a race that will be contested.
Maduro won 7.505 million votes, or 50.6 percent, vs. Capriles’ 7.270 million, or 49.1 percent, the National Electoral Council (CNE) said. With 99 percent of the vote counted, the results were conclusive, the CNE said.
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic)
CARACAS, (Reuters) – The late Hugo Chavez’s self-declared socialist revolution will be put to the test at a presidential election on Sunday that pits his chosen successor against a younger rival promising change in the nation he polarized.
Most opinion polls give his protege, acting President Nicolas Maduro, a strong lead over opposition challenger Henrique Capriles thanks to Chavez’s endorsement and the surge of grief and sympathy over his death from cancer last month.
SABANETA, Venezuela, (Reuters) – Sitting under the shade of mango trees in the childhood backyard of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro kicked off his election campaign with a sentimental chat with members of the ex-president’s family.
Chavez’s five brothers regaled Maduro, the acting president, with stories of how they played marbles and ate mangoes as children on the grassy lawn. It was all part of Maduro’s efforts to highlight his ties to the symbolically important family ahead of the presidential election on Sunday.
SAN FELIPE, Venezuela — Nicolás Maduro is certainly not the first political candidate to invoke the name and legacy of a dead leader to win votes. But he may be the first to say that his political mentor, President Hugo Chávez, visited him from beyond the grave in the form of a little bird. In what stands out as the most surreal moment of Venezuela’s presidential campaign — a race whose central personality is the deceased president — Mr. Maduro told the nation that Mr. Chávez’s spirit came to him as a tiny bird that flew into a chapel where he was praying.
BOGOTA -- One is a former union organizer and foreign minister who skipped university to pursue politics. He rose to fame as the loyal soldier of late President Hugo Chávez. The other is a governor and lawyer who spent four months in jail. He prides himself on defeating every rival he has ever faced except one_ Chávez. As Venezuela barrels toward snap elections Sunday, one of these two men — Nicolás Maduro and Henrique Capriles — will be the first to occupy the seat Chávez owned for 14 years.
In the Dominican Republic, discounts on Venezuelan oil imports keep the lights on. In Jamaica, they are helping a limping economy stay afloat, and in Haiti, a young and inexperienced leadership is using them to achieve quick results.
But despite financial benefits of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s Petrocaribe oil agreement with cash-strapped Caribbean countries, analysts and critics say inadequate oversight has contributed to a lack of transparency in many of the 17 beneficiary nations.
BOGOTA -- Drugs, lies and murder plots. Venezuela’s compressed presidential campaign officially begins Tuesday in a race that will determine the future of the Andean nation after the death of President Hugo Chávez, who led the country for 14 years. But the accusations and innuendos being hurled between the two main candidates are threatening to turn this into one of the uglier races in recent memory.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Legislators from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have paid tribute to the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, saying that his vision had inspired millions all over Latin America and the Caribbean.
“The people of our region will never forget that President Chavez held out his hand in solidarity, brotherhood and friendship and made a real difference to their lives.
In the past few weeks there has been a lot of speculation in the Caricom and regional media about whether the PetroCaribe programme will survive without President Hugo Chávez.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela has halted communication with a top US diplomat in the wake of President Hugo Chavez's death, hardening its anti-US stance ahead of an election next month.
Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said yesterday that "any type of contact has been postponed" with US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson, who had reportedly reached out to Venezuela's government before Chavez's death.