SANTA ELENA, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez and opposition rival Henrique Capriles took to the provinces yesterday to galvanise supporters and show their strengths at the formal launch of Venezuela’s election campaign.
Capriles, a young state governor seeking to end 13 years of socialist rule in the South American nation, was flying to two distant spots near the Brazilian and Colombian borders to highlight alleged government neglect of remote communities.
Unable to repeat the frenetic campaigning of past elections due to his struggle with cancer, Chavez nevertheless made a rare appearance at a rally in central Venezuela to underline he is fit enough for the October 7 vote. — Reuters
