http://www.smh.com.au/world/socialist-chavez-hangs-on-to-power-in-venezuela-20121008-279a7.html
Socialist Chavez hangs on to power in Venezuela Date, October 9, 2012 William Neuman Caracas PRESIDENT Hugo Chavez, long a fiery foe of Washington, won re-election on Sunday, facing down cancer and the strongest electoral challenge of his nearly 14 years in office, and gaining a new mandate to deepen his socialist revolution. Though his margin of victory was narrower than in past elections, he still won handily. With most votes tallied, Mr Chavez received 54 per cent to 45 per cent for his opponent, Henrique Capriles, the national election commission said. Fireworks erupted in Caracas after the news, and Chavez supporters celebrated in the streets. ''This is a country full of love,'' said Caravayo Mercedes, 50, waving a Venezuelan flag. ''Let Chavez reign forever.'' Motorbikes and trucks full of Chavez supporters whizzed by, some firing guns in the air. Shortly before 11.30pm local time, Mr Chavez stepped onto the balcony of the presidential palace in Caracas and waved to a sea of jubilant supporters. ''My words of recognition go out from here to all who voted against us, a recognition for their democratic temperament,'' he said. A former soldier, he called the election a ''perfect battle''. Still, after a spirited campaign, the polarising Mr Chavez finds himself governing a changed country. He is an ailing and politically weakened winner facing an emboldened opposition that grew stronger and more confident as the voting neared. This raised the possibility that an upset victory was within reach. Mr Chavez has said he would move forward even more aggressively to create his version of socialism in Venezuela in a new six-year term, although his pledges were short on specifics. His health, though, remains a question mark. He has undergone several rounds of treatment for cancer in the past 15 months, but has refused to make public details of his illness. If he overcomes the disease and serves out his new term to its end in 2019, he will have been in power for two full decades. Towards the end of the campaign, facing pressure from Mr Capriles, he pledged to make his government more efficient and to pay more attention to the quality of government programs such as education. He even made appeals for the middle class and the opposition to join in his revolution. Mr Chavez spent much of the year insulting and trying to provoke Mr Capriles and his followers. And on Sunday night, the poll results showed the people he taunted as squalid good-for-nothings, little Yankees and fascists, represented nearly half the electorate. As the opposition's momentum grew, Mr Chavez's insults seemed to lose their sting. By the end of the campaign, young people in Caracas were wearing T-shirts that said ''majunche'' or good-for-nothing, Mr Chavez's favourite taunt. Mr Capriles was subdued on Sunday night, congratulating Mr Chavez and saying he hoped the President would see the result as ''the expression today of a country with two visions, and to be president means working to solve the problems of all Venezuelans''. The turnout was more than 80 per cent, the highest in decades, the election council said. People stood in line for hours, although the voting appeared in most cases to run smoothly. NEW YORK TIMES Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/socialist-chavez-hangs-on-to-power-in-venezuela-20121008-279a7.html#ixzz28izJk390 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
