by Enrico Tortolano
IN REGIONAL elections in Venezuela last Sunday, President Hugo Chávez’ governing party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won convincingly, claiming three-quarters of all governorships and mayoralties, although it lost control of the country’s two most populous states and the capital, Caracas.
Participation in the democratic process, according to the National Electoral Council, reached a record high for a regional vote with a turnout of 66 per cent.
The big surprise was the victory of opposition leader Antonio Ledezma, of the Brave People’s Alliance, in Caracas.
Mr Ledezma was a prominent member of the cabal of former president Carlos Andres Perez.
His opponent, Aristobulo Isturiz, is one of the few well-known Afro-Venezuelan politicians, a former mayor of Libertador, and Mr Chávez’ former education minister.
President Chavez congratulated the Venezuelan people for having participated in a “civic and joyful” manner. The event “ratifies” Venezuelan democracy, he said, but not like the “democracy of before” his election which “belonged to the elites”.
He conceded defeat in the state of Miranda and the capital and then asked: “Who can say that there is a dictatorship in Venezuela? Well, perhaps some will continue to say so.”
Of the 17 governorships his party won, eight were taken with 60 per cent of the vote and the others with a healthy 10 percentage points more than their closest rival.
The PSUV secured more than six million votes, which represents a significant development for the party.
PSUV vice-president Alberto Muller Rojas said the result compares favourably with the four million votes the opposition obtained, and maintains the 60-40 ratio of previous elections in favour of Mr Chavez’ Bolivarian movement.
At party headquarters, Mr Chavez made his intentions clear: “The construction of socialism in Venezuela is ratified and now we will focus on deepening and extending it.”
