The first-ever nominee of the unified opposition, Henrique Capriles Radonski will be the principal challenger to Hugo Chávez in October. Capriles won Venezuela’s first opposition primary with 62 percent of the vote, emerging as the official candidate of the Coalition for Democratic Unity (MUD).
Capriles is the current Governor of Miranda, one of the largest and most densely populated states in Venezuela. He was elected to the position in 2008, defeating Chávez’s right hand man, Diosdado Cabello. A longtime target of the Chávez administration, Capriles persevered through efforts to bar him from the election, winning with 53 percent of the popular vote.
As governor, Capriles has made improvements to Miranda’s educational system a top priority. In addition to receiving high marks for his work, he has implemented programs to aid the state’s poorest citizens. During his time in office, Capriles has revitalized 400 of Miranda’s schools and provided food, shelter and education to more than 2,500 families in poverty through his “Zero Hunger Plan.” Capriles also made great strides on the health front, creating several programs including “Rapid Health”, the “Friendly Health Houses” and the “Center for Dental Specialties,” all of which offer health services to almost one and a half million children and families in his state.
Previously, Capriles spent eight years as Mayor of Baruta, a municipality within the Greater Caracas Municipality – Venezuela’s federal district. He was elected in 2000. While mayor, he was arrested and jailed for four months after being accused of fomenting attacks on the Cuban embassy in Venezuela during the 2002 coup attempt against Hugo Chávez. He was acquitted of all charges. The U.S. Department of State referenced Capriles’ case in its 2008 Human Rights report, calling his arrest “a denial of a fair and public trial.”
Capriles’ national political career began in 1998, when at 26 he was elected to the then Chamber of Deputies, becoming the youngest elected member of Venezuela’s parliament. Capriles’ served as President of the Chamber of Deputies until it was dissolved under the Chávez-led constitutional assembly of 1999.
Throughout his career, Capriles has been an outspoken critic of the Chávez administration, particularly with regard to expropriations. A commerce lawyer by trade, he has argued vigorously for the decentralization of government power and for re-opening trade and diplomatic ties with other Western democracies.
Capriles has embarked on a three-month, “house-by-house” tour of the country designed as much to show off his youthful energy as his ideas. With no connection to the old political establishment and favoring the moderate, center-left government model of Brazil, Capriles has positioned himself as a fresh alternative for all Venezuelans. His campaign slogan, “hay un camino” (“there is a way”), was crafted to convey a sense of optimism and potential in Venezuela’s future
Heading into the October elections, Capriles has established a platform focused on:
- Ending impunity for criminals and drug traffickers and developing an effective penal system;
- Gradually rescinding the artificial exchange rates and other currency controls imposed by Chávez;
- Reforming Venezuela’s education system and improving Venezuela’s welfare programs, or “misiones”;
- Reducing corruption and political interference in Venezuela’s public sector;
- Decentralizing the Venezuelan government, returning authority to the country’s state and local governments.
Click here to learn more about Henrique Capriles Radonski via his website.