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Commandante Chavez carries on in Venezuela, USA in shock, Iran festive

Commandante Chavez to carry the revolution on in Venezuela for a 4th term
Commandante Chavez to carry the revolution on in Venezuela for a 4th term

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez shrugged off cancer and a unified opposition on Sunday to be victorious yet again at the ballot box and win another six-year mandate to pursue his oil-funded socialist revolution targeting US policies.

Caracas / NationalTurk – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez waved the national flag while celebrating his re-election as head of Venezuelan state from a balcony at Miraflores Palace in Caracas. Chavez sang the national anthem and vowed to be a better president after defeating opposition rival Henrique Capriles. Fireworks erupted across Caracas as “Chavistas” celebrated in front of the presidential palace after near-complete official results showed Chavez winning 54.42 percent of votes compared to 44.97 percent for Capriles.

Cancer survivor Hugo Chávez has ensured his 14-year reign as Venezuelan President is extended another 6 years after a fourth election victory over fierce opponent.

Although Chavez’s share of the vote dropped dramatically it was a still a comfortable victory over rival Henrique Capriles, a centrist with pro-American leanings who leads the coalition Democratic Alliance.

Hugo Chavez’s rival, 40-year-old Miranda state governor Henrique Capriles, was gracious in defeat, stating, ‘ I accept and respect the decision of the people, ‘ but it was a bitter pill for the opposition and many in the divided country to swallow.

Hugo Chavez : His Speech after election victory

“Thank you my dear people!!! Viva Venezuela!!!” Chavez, in power for almost 14 years, wrote on Twitter after the National Electoral Council announced the score. “Thank you God! Thank you to all of you!” The result after a massive 80.94 percent turnout showed a far tougher contest than Chavez has endured so far to his 14-year tenure. He won the 2006 election with 62 percent of the vote and by a margin of 25 points. ‘ Viva Venezuela! Viva the fatherland!” exulted the leftist leader. ‘ The battle was perfect and the victory was perfect.” “I want to include everybody, including sectors of the opposition,’ Chavez, wearing a red shirt, said after the opposition’s best election result yet against the leftist firebrand. Brandishing the sword of Venezuelan independence hero Simon Bolivar, Chavez pledged to press ahead with the socialist revolution that has antagonized opponents at home and abroad.

With 90 % of ballots counted, Chavez won 7,444,082 votes, compared to 6,151,554 for Capriles — highlighting the deep divisions in the oil-rich South American nation. Although Chavez was the clear winner, it was a long way from the heady days when he could beat an opponent by a margin of up to 22%.

Chavez had held a 10-point lead in the latest opinion poll before Sunday’s vote, but other surveys had indicated a statistical dead heat. This reflects the professional campaign fought by Capriles, but also voter fatigue with the same leader after 14 years and frustration at Chavez’s failure to deliver on all his promises.

Election experts said the electronic voting system was reliable, but suspicions ran high that whoever lost would not concede defeat.

Hundreds of Chavez supporters assembled before the official declaration in front of the Miraflores presidential palace, setting off firecrackers, honking horns and holding signs as his campaign song blared. “Venezuela will continue its march toward the democratic socialism of the 21st century,” he said. “I commit to being a better president than I’ve been these past few years.

Hugo Chavez, from a poor background, is known locally as Comandante, a term used since he first appeared on television during a failed coup d’etat in 1992.

Commandante Chavez to carry the revolution on in Venezuela for a 4th term

He will use his fourth term to deepen what he calls the policies of 21st-century Socialism, which he says have massively reduced poverty in Venezuela.

The government claims that under Chavez poverty levels have more than halved, with huge sums of money poured into social housing, healthcare and education.

He is also expected to maintain close relations with Iran, Syria, Belarus, and Russia in a bid to thwart US foreign policy. Chavez, a flamboyant figure, once called US President George W Bush a ‘ donkey ‘ and ‘ the devil ‘ and a ‘ full idiot ‘.

However, inflation in Venezuela is running at 28%, crime levels are among the worst in Latin America and despite sitting on the world’s biggest oil reserves Venezuela suffers from power blackouts.

Venezuelan President Chavez is also accused of dictatorial tendencies and of using the state media to promote his interests which include, in his own words, a desire to rule until 2030.

His victory is a setback to the Obama administration which dislikes having a powerful socialist enemy in its ‘backyard’.

It also helps Syria, which benefits from cheap – and some free – deliveries of oil from Venezuela. Hizbollah will be heartened at still having a friendly country from which to run its Latin American interests, and Iran can continue to count on Venezuelan support at the United Nations.

If he serves his full six-year term, Chavez will have been in power for two decades. He abolished the number of terms a President can serve and in 2019 will be 64 and could possibly run for a fifth term.

Hugo Chavez has suffered a number of cancer scares, and although he says he is now fit and well, concerns about his health are ever present. For now, with a clear majority, coupled with high oil prices, he is fully in control in Venezuela, ready for a battle of words with USA.

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