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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| Socialists, Opposition Both See Victory in Venezuela Vote |
| 2013-12-10 |
| [An Nahar] Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared victory in local elections as his ruling Socialists won a majority of votes nationwide, even though they lost to the opposition in five key cities. The Sunday polls did not turn out to be the referendum on Maduro -- heir to leftist icon Hugo Chavez -- that the center-left opposition had hoped for. Nevertheless opposition candidates made major inroads by winning in Venezuela's five most populous cities, including Caracas, the oil city of Maracaibo, and -- in a highly symbolic victory -- Barinas, Chavez's birthplace. Maduro, 51, was narrowly elected to office in April, one month after his popular predecessor died of cancer. His tenure has been marked by high inflation, a soaring crime rate, and a shortage of household items like toilet paper and milk. Leftist "Chavistas" have been in power in oil-rich Venezuela since Chavez first took office in February 1999. Maduro's Socialists won nearly 50 percent of the overall vote against 43 percent for the opposition, said National Electoral Council (CNE) president Tibisay Lucerna, with nearly all of the polling stations reporting. "The Venezuelan people have told the world that (Chavez's) Bolivarian Revolution continues with even more force," Maduro said at an outdoors post-vote rally in Caracas. He described the vote as a triumph "of love and loyalty" towards Chavez. Maduro then called on opposition leader Henrique Capriles to show "humility," to "recognize that he has been defeated again" and resign. |
| Posted by:Fred |