CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez faces a critical test of his grip on power against an energized opposition in state and municipal elections today, a year after suffering his first defeat at the polls.
Chavez remains the country’s most popular politician and enjoys overwhelming control of local offices. But he faces an opposition buoyed by last year’s defeat of his attempt to abolish term limits and by grumbling over the crime, corruption and inflation that have blighted his socialist ambitions.
Chavez himself says these elections for governors and mayors could decide “the future of the revolution, the future of socialism and also the future of Hugo Chavez.”
A setback could force Chavez to contend with hostile local-level opponents with revived national clout. Victory would help him lay groundwork to extend his rule beyond 2013, when his term ends.
Pre-election polls showed Chavez’s candidates leading in a majority of races, while the opposition was ahead or in tight races in several of Venezuela’s most populous states.
Chavez already has a congress filled with supporters and a Supreme Court that critics say is in his pocket as he tries to hold on to power in state houses and city halls.
Chavez has threatened to cut off national funds to states that end up in the hands of opponents. He also has warned he might need to send tanks to defend his government if an opponent wins hard-fought Carabobo state.
The candidates include Chavez’s older brother Adan, who is in a tough race to succeed their father as governor of Barinas, Chavez’s home state. Chavez’s ex-wife, Marisabel Rodriguez, also is on the ballot — on the opposition side.
Rodriguez, running for district mayor in her hometown, Barquisimeto, said her campaign might be local but it’s also “against the danger posed to democracy by leaving a single person in power for a long time.”
Chavez’s allies swept the last state elections in 2004, winning all but two of 23 governorships and a majority of local offices. This time, candidates are competing for 22 governorships, 330 mayoral posts and other offices.
