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Acting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros leads the other presidential candidates in terms of popularity ahead of the forthcoming presidential election in the Latin American country. According to a poll by the Datanalisis sociological service, slightly over 49 percent of the voters stated that they’d cast their ballot for Maduro. Some 35% of those polled say they’d vote for the opposition leader, Henrique Capriles Radonski. This presidential election was called following the death of Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías on 5 March. The election is due on 14 April.
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Venezuela’s Acting President and top contender for the presidency, Nicolás Maduro Moros, pledged to stay the course of the Bolivarian Revolution if he wins next month’s election. Speaking on Monday, Maduro said that on April 14 his supporters were bound to score the biggest victory in the country’s entire history.
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Two candidates registered to run for the presidency in Venezuela, Hugo Chávez’s successor Nicolás Maduro Moros, and opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski. Both have a bit more than a month to attract as many supporters on their side as possible. Snap presidential elections in Venezuela shall occur on 14 April. The previous presidential elections in Venezuela took place October 2012. Then, Sr Chávez, who was diagnosed with cancer, won with an 11 percent lead over his rival Capriles. This time around, the opposition Coalition for Democratic Unity again picked Capriles as its candidate.
Zbignev Ivanovsky, an expert at the Institute for Latin American Studies, said, “Capriles is 40 years old, and was brought up in a Catholic family. He graduated from Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas with a degree in law; he’s also a successful businessman… his family owns assets in the media and in the film industry”.
In the 2008 regional elections, he won election as Governor of Miranda state, defeating Chávez supporter and former Vice President Diosdado Cabello Rondón. One should mention that Capriles received this nomination after his party’s defeat in the presidential election. Now, Henrique Capriles is going to compete with interim president Nicolás Maduro Moros. Ivanovsky went on to say, “He’s a very energetic politician. He’s 50, and he’s had a meteoric political career…from bus-driver to Vice President. He was a member of the left-wing opposition party, was a trades union activist, and took part in writing the Venezuelan Constitution. For many years, he served as the country’s foreign minister. Therefore, he’s a very experienced politician. Although he didn’t receive higher education, he has impressive experience”.
Although Capriles enjoys wide support from middle-class Venezuelans, most analysts predict that Maduro would win the election. He’s of working-class background, and has support from ordinary people. Besides, he’s promised to retain Chávez’s policies, which is what many people hope for these days. Chávez’s critics will vote for Capriles.
Aleksei Chernyaev, an expert in American and Latin American politics, said, “As far as Russia’s position is concerned, it’d like to see Maduro as president, as that would guarantee that Venezuela would fulfil previously-reached agreements. However, it would be quite likely that if Capriles becomes president, he would suspend arms deals with Russia”. The presidential campaign has just begun, but the candidates have already exchanged harsh remarks… Maduro called his rival “a fascist”, whilst Capriles promised Maduro a difficult path to the presidential post. The struggle is going to be tough.
Natalya Kovalenko
12/19 March 2013
Voice of Russia World Service
http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_03_19/Maduro-tops-popularity-rankings-ahead-of-elections-in-Venezuela/
http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_03_19/Venezuela-to-stay-true-to-Chavez-legacy-Maduro/
http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_03_12/Venezuela-presidential-race-is-going-to-be-tough/
Voices from Russia 
Moscow Street Named After Late Venezuelan Leader Chávez
Tags: Chávez, diplomacy, diplomatic relations, Gazprombank, Government of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, Hugo Chávez Frías, Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, Igor Sechin, List of Presidents of Venezuela, Moscow, Nicolás Maduro, Petróleos de Venezuela, political commentary, politics, poster, Rosneft, Russia, Russian, Russian diplomacy, South America, Venezuela
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On Tuesday, a street in northern Moscow was named after late Venezuelan President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, the same day that Rosneft and Gazprombank inked significant deals with national oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela. Current Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros and Rosneft head Igor Sechin attended the naming ceremony, and Sechin announced that the Russian state-owned oil firm signed an agreement to help develop extensive offshore deposits in South America. Also on Tuesday, Gazprombank, affiliated with Russian energy giant Gazprom, said it signed a deal with Petroleos de Venezuela to invest 1 billion USD (32.3 billion Roubles. 770 million Euros. 660 million UK Pounds) in their joint venture, PetroSamora.
Speaking at the naming ceremony, Venezuelan President Maduro said that President Chávez had visited the Russian capital at least ten times, saying, “He never felt like a stranger in Moscow. I thank you for this gift”. Maduro arrived in Moscow on Monday for a two-day visit. Chávez, who ruled the South American nation for 14 years, died on 5 March at the age of 58 after a two-year fight with cancer. Last week, the acting chairman of the Moscow government’s public affairs committee, Aleksandr Chistyakov, said that Chavez Street (Ulitsa Chavesa) would be a 170-metre-long (558-foot-long) square.
2 July 2013
RIA-Novosti
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130702/182018740/Moscow-Street-Named-After-Late-Venezuelan-Leader-Chavez.html