Setbacks for Chavez, but his candidates win too

NY Times:

President Hugo Chávez’s supporters suffered defeat in several state and municipal races on Sunday, with the opposition retaining power in oil-rich Zulia, the country’s most populous state, and winning crucial races here in the capital.

The losses were Mr. Chávez’s second setback at the polls in the past year, after the defeat of a proposed constitutional overhaul last December that would have enhanced his powers. The results will put opponents of Mr. Chávez in charge of areas with about a third of Venezuela’s 26 million people.

“These victories came in the economic and political centers of the country,” said Luis Vicente León, director of Datánalisis, a polling firm here. “They represent the most important symbols in terms of cities and population.”

Particularly here in Caracas, the results were rooted in festering discontent over the government’s inability to lower violent crime as homicides and kidnappings have surged over the past decade, making it one of the world’s deadliest cities.

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The results will be a test for Venezuela’s beleaguered political institutions, depending how the president reacts. Despite the inroads made by the opposition, followers of Mr. Chávez still control the Supreme Court, the National Assembly, the federal bureaucracy and every state company. In all, pro-Chávez candidates won 17 of the 22 states up for grabs, though many of the victories were in relatively sparsely-populated rural states.

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The opposition victories are important because of the obstacles that had to be overcome. Chavez had banned some of the best opposition candidates. Still the guy is in charge of most of the country and more importantly virtually all the purse strings. The only thing restraining him at the moment is the falling price of oil which finances his ambitions.

What the opposition winners must do is show some competence in controlling crime and managing their government. If they do that they will be in a better position to gain from the next race.