There are just seven weeks to go to the parliamentary elections on September 26, and the panorama looks complicated, to say the least. As happened at the last elections, the democratic sector is entering this contest with one hand tied behind their backs.
The main challenge they face this time is overcoming the hurdle of competing democratically against an aspiring dictator who favors cynicism and brazenness.
President Hugo Chavez on Sunday rejected Larry Palmer as the US ambassador-designate to Venezuela, and urged US President Barack Obama to “look for another candidate.”
“How can you think I’d accept this gentleman coming here? You’d best withdraw him, Obama. Don’t insist, I’m asking you,” said Chavez in his weekly “Alo Presidente” radio and television show.
Venezuela’s socialist President Hugo Chavez cut diplomatic ties with neighbor Colombia last week after it accused his country of sheltering leftist guerrillas. The latest dispute between the feuding Andean nations has ratcheted up regional tensions ahead of the inauguration of Colombian president-elect Juan Manuel Santos on Aug. 7 and Venezuelan legislative elections on Sept. 26