By Redmond O'Neill - Comment Is Free, Nov 26th 2008
Chavez achieved a
sustained rate of economic growth outstripping that of most of Latin
America and he put these resources to use tackling the most acute
issues of poverty, health and education. These elections show
that Chavez now faces a more specific but equally imperative challenge,
that of radically improving the infrastructure, and with it, the
efficiency and quality of life in the country's main cities.
Candidates from the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won 81%
of the mayor’s offices and 77% of the governorships in Venezuela in
last Sunday’s regional and local elections, Venezuelan President Hugo
Chávez announced in a press conference Monday evening.
The pro-Chavez United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won 72% of
the governorships in the November 23, 2008 elections and 58% of the
popular vote, dumbfounding the predictions of most of the
pro-capitalist pollsters and the vast majority of the mass media who
favored the opposition.
After the results of the regional elections came out, winning
candidates of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV)
committed to strengthening socialism in their states, while winning
opposition candidates emphasized security and said they want to work
with the national government.
By Tamara Pearson - Venezuelanalysis.com, Nov 24th 2008
Observing the electoral process in Venezuela revealed a country that is
losing the apathy that is common at such elections, and as many voters
said, gaining a sense of responsibility to participate politically.
President Hugo Chavez’s governing party, the United Socialist Party of
Venezuela (PSUV) got mixed results in the regional and local elections
today, winning strongly in 17 out of 23 states, but losing the country’s two most
populous states and the Capital District of Caracas, with two more
states still to be decided.
By James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com, Nov 23rd 2008
There is a unique local context in every state and municipality where
the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) and the United Socialist Party
of Venezuela (PSUV) are running separate candidates in this Sunday’s
regional and local elections, and each instance bears particular
implications for the future path of Venezuela’s Bolivarian Revolution.
recent years, media coverage of Venezuelan
elections has been misleading, repeating claims made by opponents of
the democratically elected government of Hugo Chávez. This
briefing outlines some key facts concerning the forthcoming election,
previous elections, and the Venezuelan government's democratic mandate.