Today Venezuelans will elect their new president and it will either be Hugo Chavez or Henrique Capriles. Early this morning even before the voting booths opened their doors; thousands of people were waiting in line eager to submit their vote.Chavez has been known all over the world for his long history in office, and if elected once again today, it will be his third term as president.
It's been over 13 years now that Chavez has been president, and since then Venezuela has had some economic growth, social support, as well as many aid programs he created and reinforced, which based on that aspect that's where most of Chavez popularity lies in.
He also formed a group with Latin American countries of left wing political parties, with whom he offered economic support to from the sales of the exploitation of the oil fields of his country.
On the other hand, crime in Venezuela has increased and also many consider that the "hunger for power of Chavez", has stalled the countries development, in other words, they say that because of this he has lost the vision and sight of the necessities of the people of Venezuela, and it has a lot to do with him being in power now for so long.
Experts say that Chavez opponent Henrique Capriles is considered the strongest one he has ever had in an election, and that the opposition against him has never been so united before. Capriles recognizes all of the social aid programs that were motivated by Chavez, and added that he will not only continue to promote them, but he also has plans to increase the economic growth of the country and increase the quality of life for the Venezuelan people.
He has also proposed measures to reduce the unemployment rate, and also proposed a program that will designate 5% of the country's oil sale for food for the poor, and not to mention other programs.
Yesterday night Chavez held a press conference at the presidential palace, where he talked about the treatment he has undergone this past year for cancer, and also mentioned his concern about the election results and asked the people to respect the outcome, in which he mentioned that Venezuela has one of the best systems for the electoral process.
The most recent polls showed Chavez being 10 points ahead of Capriles, but the results might shock everyone.
A few minutes ago both candidates through their Twitter accounts invited everyone to go vote. Chavez in a message wrote "God bless the 7th of October! Let's write another page in history throughout this next few hours!!", and Capriles wrote "today we decide the future of our Venezuela, let's all vote thinking that we all can be and will be better, vote for you", among other messages.
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Brenda.Colon@sandiegored.com
Translation : Omar.Martínez@sandiegored.com
