GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Stabroek News - Hugo Chávez may be dead but chavismo is very much alive in the highly charged Venezuelan election campaign, due to come to a head on Sunday. As has been widely reported, the interim president and Mr Chávez’s anointed successor, Nicolás Maduro, a 50-year-old former bus driver and trade unionist, has been campaigning on the promise of preserving the late president’s legacy, to the extent of declaring himself the “son of Chávez.” It is not surprising that Mr Maduro should so attach himself to his predecessor, whose death has led to the transformation of the cult of Chávez into the mythification of the charismatic populist. From demagogue to demigod you might say.
Support for Mr Chávez’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) is for the most part dependent on keeping the image of Mr Chávez alive in order to maintain the momentum of the “Bolivarian Revolution” on which he had embarked. In this respect, enthusiasm for Mr Chávez’s social reforms aimed at Venezuela’s large underclass is expected to trump anything opposition candidate Henrique Capriles can put forward to counter Mr Chávez’s “21st century socialism.” As such, Mr Maduro is going into the election with a healthy 10-point lead over his opponent – pretty much the same margin by which Mr Chávez triumphed last October.
Mr Capriles, however, maintains that Venezuela needs a new beginning after 14 years of Mr Chávez and he is advocating a socio-economic model akin to the Brazilian mix of free-market economics and strong social policies. He, moreover, dismisses the polls, pours scorn on Mr Maduro’s ability to lead the country and appears confident of victory.  “Of course I can win,” he told AFP news agency, “Maduro lacks charisma and leadership.”