Election officials: Chavez wins by wide margin

December 3, 2006

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- President Hugo Chavez, an outspoken opponent of the United States who has used Venezuela's oil wealth to give handouts to the poor, won re-election to another six-year term by a wide margin on Sunday, official results showed.

With 78 percent of voting stations reporting, Chavez had 61 percent to 38 percent for challenger Manuel Rosales, said Tibisay Lucena, head of the country's elections council. Chavez had nearly 6 million votes versus 3.7 million for Rosales, according to the partial tally.

Turnout was 62 percent, according to an official bulletin of results, making Chavez's lead insurmountable.

Even before all polling stations closed, hundreds of Chavez supporters celebrated in the streets as word spread of a partisan exit poll paid for by the government that pointed to a sweeping Chavez victory over Rosales.

They set off fireworks and cruised downtown Caracas in caravans, honking horns and shouting "Chavez isn't going anywhere!"



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This is not surprising, as many Venezuelans have seen an increase in their standard of living. This has been especially true of such segments of the pouplation as the various indigenous peoples and those who did not benefit much in the past from the wealth of their country.

In some ways, the criticism directed at Chavez reminds me of the criticism directed at Franklin Delano Roosevelt over the New Deal. By addressing the issues of poverty and inequality, Chavez is trying to make a country that is more responsive to the needs of its citizens.

To me, a just society tries to ensure that the needs of its citizens are met. Chavez, while not perfect, is making some efforts --- and offending a few people. Among these are the members of the Bush administration, which recognized the 2002 coup that was short lived.

The Bushies can't stand for someone like Chavez to gain power in an oil-rich country with a lot of poor people. How can they make him look like a bad guy? Couple that with the fact that Chavez has stood up to the most powerful country in the world and told the truth about its leader...this election must be about as awful for Bush as the US November mid-terms. Tee-hee!

Welcome Will in chicago. Thanks for your comments especially including the indigenous reality in all of this. If we still had a viable indigenous population perhaps things would change here. But hey, why else would we attempt to exterminate the whole population of land owners, unless we didn't want to pay them!

When you raise the standard of living at the bottom then people have a chance to hope. As the momentum builds a greater stronger country emerges. America was once a great country, but it is guaranteeing its demise by not building a strong foundation. Since the rich here don't care about anyone or anything but their hegemony, including America's security and growth, perhaps it is because the elites know that it is the poor who keep them rich and in power and so they need them and must be kept poor or they may be overthrown. Truth is that the more you oppress people and deny them dignity of life, the more likely you are to be overthrown. But they are too afraid and greedy to change.

John Lennon said "Power to the people", and Venezuela's success is another rub in the eyes of American Plutocrascy. Hopefully the poor will reason it out and get busy rewriting the history of Amercia as well!

There seems to be a universal hatred of Chavez, one that is shared by many on the left also. Another thing I don't understand.

Yes, Chavez is power hungry, but at least he is acknowledging ALL the people, not just those at the top.

Thanks Will for the sensible post.