KINGSTON, Jamaica - Fifteen years ago, elections in Venezuela were not very democratic affairs, confined to nasty battles between two factions within the country's elite, and largely excluding any representation of the interests of the majority poor, except to temporarily garner their votes. Sound vaguely familiar?
After Chávez, all of that changed. Winning is now a genuine battle for the hearts and minds of the masses of 'chávistas' - without whom one cannot prevail, and whose interests are now front and centre.
Between 1998 and 2012, Chávez dramatically widened the scope of popular participation in Venezuelan affairs - both during, and also between, elections. By living up to his promises to the majority poor, he easily won four consecutive elections for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) by very substantial margins, within a modernised voting process that former US President Jimmy Carter has hailed as "the best in the world".