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Saturday's
Lagniappe
Q&A:
Venezuela votes
Reuters
By
BBC
Monitoring
Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's socialist president and vociferous
critic of the US, is seeking another six years in power in Sunday's
presidential election.
His main
rival in the highly polarised campaign is social democrat Manuel
Rosales, a regional governor put forward as the opposition's
joint candidate.
Observers
predict an easy win for Mr Chavez, whose popularity among the
country's poor is buoyed up by welfare projects funded by Venezuela's
oil wealth.
Who are
the main candidates?
Hugo Chavez,
52, has been in office since 1999 after being swept to power
on a wave of popular disenchantment with the political establishment.
His message
is one of "social revolution", egalitarianism, the
redistribution of oil wealth to the poor, rolling back US influence
and Latin American solidarity.
After introducing
a new constitution that strengthened the presidency, Mr Chavez
was re-elected with a large majority in 2000, survived a coup
in 2002, and won an opposition referendum to remove him from
office in 2004.
He remains
popular as a result of generous welfare programmes known as
"missions", but also has some support among those
who have grown rich in the recent oil-fuelled boom.
His folksy
style also goes down well with ordinary Venezuelans, although
many middle-class voters see him as uncouth.
Manuel Rosales,
the governor of the oil-rich western state of Zulia, is Mr Chavez's
main rival.
Mr Rosales,
53, is a social democrat who says he wants to govern for all
Venezuelans, describes his platform as "democracy and social
justice" and has promised to tackle crime.
One of only
two governors who do not support Mr Chavez, he has managed to
unite a fragmented opposition behind him.
He has accused
Mr Chavez of wasting the country's oil wealth on friendly governments
abroad and of trying to introduce Cuban-style communism.
The governor
also contrasts what he says is his record as a "proven
democrat" with the president's "authoritarianism".
However,
some point out that Mr Rosales was one of those who signed a
decree declaring Mr Chavez deposed during the short-lived coup
of 2002.
Critics
also describe him as uncharismatic - his supporters prefer "enigmatic".
What have
been the main issues?
- Welfare
policy
Despite
its oil wealth, Venezuela has long been characterised by sharp
social divisions and widespread poverty.
High oil
prices have allowed Mr Chavez's government to run generous programmes
to help the poor, including free healthcare, basic education
and subsidised food.
Mr Rosales
says the programmes are politically motivated, do little to
tackle the economic root causes of Venezuela's poverty, and
in any case were introduced before Mr Chavez came to power.
However,
Mr Rosales has promised to continue some of the programmes,
and wants to redistribute 20% of the country's oil wealth through
special debit cards for the poor.
- Economy
In recent
years, Venezuela has benefited hugely from the high price of
oil.
Mr Rosales
accuses the president of wasting the petrodollars on subsidising
friendly governments abroad, such as Fidel Castro's Cuba.
A strong
element in Mr Chavez's economic policy has been the nationalisation
of large enterprises.
However,
his own policies remain relatively vague, apart from hints at
reducing the state's role in the economy.
- Foreign
policy
Mr Chavez
has become prominent on the world stage as a fierce opponent
of what he calls the US "empire", and especially President
George Bush, whom he describes as the "devil".
He has been
a stout ally of Washington's arch-enemy, Fidel Castro of Cuba,
whom he calls "father", and has sought closer ties
with the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mr Rosales
has, on the other hand, said he wants to improve relations with
the United States.
But he has
also tried to weaken Mr Chavez's description of him as an American
lackey, saying he is neither for the "empire" - Mr
Chavez's term for the US - nor for the "bearded one"
- a reference to Fidel Castro.
How has
the campaign gone?
Mr Chavez
has refused to enter into a debate with Mr Rosales, describing
George Bush as his real opponent in the election.
Mr Rosales
has stressed his family credentials, and says he has walked
more than 400km (250 miles) while campaigning.
Both candidates
ended their campaigns with huge rallies in the capital, Caracas,
attended by hundreds of thousands of supporters. More than 16
million
Venezuelans
are eligible to vote.
BBC Monitoring
selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news
agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70
languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux
abroad.
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