Chavez opponents rally

last updated 8 January 2015

Caracas, Venezuela

In a sign of growing opposition to the leftist regime of President Hugo Chavez, tens of thousands of Venezuelans filled the streets of Caracas this week in support of Manuel Rosales, a candidate in December’s presidential election. Rosales, the center-left governor of the oil-rich state of Zulia, is the front-runner among 18 candidates opposing Chavez. Rosales has campaigned heavily in poor areas of Venezuela, which are Chavez strongholds, talking up his plan to distribute debit cards to the poor. “Rosales is buying votes from the poor by offering something in return like cash,” says political commentator Alberto Garrido. “He is acting like a demagogue.” Chavez, who took office in 1999, has been a vociferous critic of the U.S. and President Bush, calling him “the devil” during a recent speech at the United Nations.