President Hugo Chavez won re-election Sunday, surviving his closest race yet. Click “more” below for more information.
A long wait for the results produced high tensions, including a Twitter hashtag called BitingNails that became the most popular in the country. Finally, fireworks exploded over downtown Caracas amid horn-honking by elated Chavez supporters waving flags and jumping for joy outside the presidential palace.
With 90 percent of votes counted, Chavez had more than 54 percent of the vote to 45 percent for challenger Henrique Capriles, an athletic 40-year-old former state governor who unified and energized the opposition while barnstorming across the oil-exporting nation.
But Capriles’ promises to seriously address violent crime that has spun out of control, streamline a patronage-bloated bureaucracy and end rampant corruption proved inadequate against Chavez’s charisma, well-oiled political machine and a legacy of putting Venezuela’s poor first with generous social welfare programs.
Chavez rallied thousands of supporters from a balcony of the presidential palace, holding up a sword that once belonged to 19th century independence hero Simon Bolivar.
“The revolution has triumphed!” Chavez told the crowd, saying his supporters “voted for socialism.”
The crowd responded chanting “Chavez won’t go!”
Chavez will now have a freer hand to push for an even bigger state role in the economy and continue populist programs. He pledged before the vote to make a stronger push for socialism in the next term. He’s also likely to further limit dissent and deepen friendships with U.S. rivals.
Source: Yahoo!
