Justin's Political Corner

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chávez and his allies accused opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles on Sunday of trying to provoke violence by campaigning in areas that have been bastions of support for the incumbent leader.

Chávez accused Capriles of trying to spur violence as part of a broader plan aimed at creating widespread political upheaval ahead of Venezuela’s looming Oct. 7 presidential election.

The socialist leader spoke after a scuffle Saturday involving stone-throwing Chavistas and opposition sympathizers who joined Capriles as he led a march in the poor Caracas district of La Vega. Police forced him to turn back without completing the march.

“Yesterday, for example, a very lamentable incident occurred. But it’s evidence of this plan,” Chávez said, speaking in front of hundreds of uniformed soldiers at Venezuela’s largest military fort. “We must neutralize the destabilization plans.”

Pro-Chávez lawmaker Juan Carlos Alemán echoed the president’s accusations.

Capriles demonstrated “an irresponsible attitude by staging an event in a neighborhood that backs President Chávez,” said Aleman.

Capriles called for calm and attempted to avoid any violence amid the tussle, which police broke up before violence escalated. No major injuries were reported.

So far, campaigning ahead of an Oct. 7 presidential vote has mostly been peaceful, but observers warn the deep political polarization and rising tensions between allies and adversaries of Chávez could boil over, making for a potentially violent campaign.

h/t: AP.com

President Hugo Chávez’s repeated trips to Cuba for cancer treatment and the government’s silence about his health are fueling rumors that he will name a successor to run in October presidential elections.

So far, the government has fiercely maintained that there is no alternative to Chávez, who still leads in the polls. But several names have begun to circulate among observers to take the helm should Chávez delegate his powers.

Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro, Vice President Elías Jaua, and National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello are considered potential candidates. They are already cited in polls, triggering speculation over the ramifications of a possible succession battle.

Any departure of Chávez from the national stage would have profound consequences in Venezuela, where he has governed since 1999. It would also have a huge impact across Latin America, especially in leftist ally nations which have been showered with his country’s oil wealth.

Chávez returned to Cuba on Tuesday for what he called the “home stretch” of his radiation treatment, without providing more details. His previous stay, which was supposed to have been his last, stretched out for 11 days.

The exact nature of the cancer has never been disclosed. The 57-year-old underwent an operation in Havana on February 26 to remove a second cancerous tumor in his pelvic area, where a baseball-sized growth was extracted a year ago.

Usually all over the Venezuelan media, Chávez now rarely appears in public and has been reduced to sending out tweets during his long absences in Cuba.

Chávez is running for reelection as a “revolutionary socialist” against Henrique Capriles Radonski, the youthful Miranda state governor and center-left candidate for the united opposition.

h/t: The Raw Story