[aldo_14]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3569012.stm

[Rictor]

I was actually musing whether or not to post a thread about this earlier. I'm glad, very glad, that he has won. Its a triumph for demcracy, and this being the umpenteenth time that Chavez has won an election, I think it should be obvious at this point that he has the support of the Venezuelan people.

[pyro-manic]

Good news.

If his victory is confirmed, it will be the eighth time Mr Chavez has won public approval of his rule and his policies, after two presidential elections and six referendums.

He must be doing something right, eh? And some people evidently don't like what he's doing with state money, i.e. ploughing it into healthcare and food for the poorest people.  Interesting to note that his opponents are "white, middle class businessmen" and media tycoons. Obviously they aren't seeing as much of the country's oil wealth as they think they're entitled to....

[Rictor]

Yeah, thats another aspect of Chavez's presidency thats often missed. Until now, all the rulers of Venezuela have been white - descendants from the Spanisn colonists. But there is a growing movement of indiginous people that resent being left out of the political process. Chavez is, AFAIK, the first Venezuelan president (and quite possibly the first Latin American statesman) of native descent. The other notable figure is Evo Morales in Bolivia, he's also championing indiginous rights and could very well become president soon.

[Bobboau]

I don't like him, but it seems that Venezuelans do, at least 58% of them, and that is all that matters, given all the scruteny and the huge voter turnout theres no way to claim that this isn't legitimate.
Go Venezuelans!