Chavez heads to reelection: exit pollster

[Joanne98]

By Saul Hudson

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Anti-U.S. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was heading to re-election on Sunday, according to an exit pollster linked to the government that said preliminary results indicated he had a wide lead.

The leftist incumbent was well ahead of Manuel Rosales, a governor of an oil-producing province who united the opposition, said German Campos, an official at a Venezuelan firm Consultores 30.11 that was working with a government-backed U.S. pollster.

If the exit pollster's results prove right, Chavez, 52, would have a strong majority to press his self-styled socialist revolution at home and forge an anti-U.S. front in Latin America to counter what he calls the superpower's "imperialism."
Most polls before the election showed a double-digit lead for Chavez, who is popular among the majority poor because of his free spending of the OPEC country's oil bonanza on clinics and schools.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-12-03T222025Z_01_N29379032_RTRUKOC_0_US-VENEZUELA-ELECTION.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsHome-C3-worldNews-3

[sandrakae]

1. CHAVEZ WINS THE SAME WAY BUSH WINS. I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THE TWO HATE EACH OTHER.

[Pastiche423]

2. Wrong!

Hugo Chavez wins because his people want him to be their leader.

Little Lord Pissypants "wins" by rigging electins.

VIVA CHAVEZ!

[still_one]

7. I suspect your post will be critisized for not expressing admiration for comrade chavez

[antiimperialist]

9. It's being criticized for being false

Bush wins with fraud. Chavez doesn't.

And if you think he does, prove it. WARNING: International observers have said in each Venezuelan elections that no evidence of fraud was found.

[Warren Stupidity]

12. How about for being unsubstantiated bullshit?

And nice gratuitous redbaiting you got going there too, comrade.

[David__77]

13. Right-wing DUers are welcome too.

Like in Venezuela, you are free to express your viewpoint. I only regret that you stand on the side of imperialism.

[Joanne98]

3. Chavez backs possible vote to close private TV stations

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/12/01/chavez.venezuela.election.ap/
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez backed the possibility of holding a national referendum, if he's re-elected, on whether to shut down private television stations that he has accused of subversive activities.

Chavez was asked in a televised interview if he would consider asking the nation whether the government should block certain channels from renewing their broadcast licenses next year. (Watch Chavez land a nod as Time magazine's Person of the Year )

"That is perfectly possible," Chavez said. "It's perfectly possible that the country gives its opinion, including for how long."

Chavez also said he regretted not having shut down the country's major private broadcasters right after a short-lived 2002 coup against him, citing four in particular: Globovision, Venevision, RCTV and Televen.

Chavez has clashed with the country's private television and radio networks, which are often highly critical of his government and have favored the opposition in recent years.

During the coup, several TV channels chose to broadcast cartoons and movies instead of his return to power by loyalists in the military amid a popular uprising.

Many media outlets also supported a devastating 2003 strike that failed to unseat Chavez.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/12/01/chavez.venezuela.election.ap/

GOODBYE CORPORATE FASCIST MEDIA!

[antiimperialist]

5. Your headline is misleading

It threatens to ask THE PEOPLE if TV stations who act SUBVERSIVELY should be shut down.

Besides, this is just a way to scare TV stations into conducting phoney, illegal, exit polls conducted before electoral centers are closed, which is ILLEGAL.

See Penn and Schoenn in 2004.

[Joanne98]

11. The TV is the best educational tool ever invented....

It's really too bad it only gets used to SELL PRODUCTS with sex and violence and SHALLOW FEEL GOOD SHOWS! I think the TV should be more "fair and balanced". Like using it for GOOD instead of GREED! Hugo should just nationalize HALF the airwaves. I think that's FAIR! It would be a PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP! I thought all the fascists loved that idea?

[Say_What]

4. Much to the chagrin of the Chavez haters and the VenGUSANOS in Miami.

:evilgrin:



Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez casts his ballot at a polling station in Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2006. Chavez is facing opposition leader Manuel Rosales in his attempt to get re-elected. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)


Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez gestures after casting his ballot at a polling station in Caracas December 3, 2006. REUTERS/Jorge Silva (VENEZUELA)

[bluestateguy]

6. That's because he ran as a conservative. Conservatism really won.

:sarcasm:

[antiimperialist]

8. Yeah, Conservative Socialism has won

:-)

The center is the way to be.

[antiimperialist]

10. 58% to 40% according to exit poll

The same cited by our original thread poster.

[Heidi]

14. Kick. (nt)

[antiimperialist]

15. Officials: Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez leads race for re-election by wide margin

MSNBC breaking news bamner at the top:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

[Bicoastal]

16. I don't know that much about his opponent, but....

I personally don't like the guy in the context of international relations. His Bush-bashing was so extreme that W ended up looking good just for refusing to respond to his remarks. And although many Democrats (like Rangel) similarly criticized his performance at the UN, it naturally gave the right-wing talking heads plenty of ammo in the months leading to our own election.

It's too bad that few world leaders with credibility have stood up to Bush in a constructive way--they either go extreme on the bashing (like Chavez or Chirac) or are just plain obsequious (Blair, Merkel, etc.) Course, if someone can think of a good example, please let me know. He doesn't really count, but Kofi Anon hasn't taken any crap from W--definitely one of the best UN leaders in recent times.

[David__77]

20. Chavez speaks the truth about the US aggression.

It's committing murderous crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Someone needs to tell the truth. Chavez does, and that's why he's dear to millions and millions around the world. Of course, only a minority in the US will face the ugly truth.

[Bicoastal]

24. Look, when you refer to Bush as the DEVIL in the UN...

...even I think that's going too far. Not because it isn't true, but it makes the insulter look as bad, if not worse, than the insultee. I dislike Bush intently, but I want people who challenge him publcily to attack him with facts, not schoolyard insults.

Privately, of course, it's a different story.

[David__77]

26. We're bound by different politics here.

Chavez is under no obligation to be "diplomatic" to somehow help milquetoast leftist in this country. While children are killed in Iraq, what words are possibly too strong?

[Bicoastal]

27. I know, but...

it's just that the next thing you know, we'll be sending troops to Caracas to "stabilize the region" and "promote democracy in South America." This administration is apt to fly off the handle. Perhaps they'll say that Chavez has BMD's....


Bananas of Mass Distruction. Goodnight, everybody!

[StClone]

33. I can assure you

Once Bush is out of power Chavez will be very receptive to correcting the image the Corporate Media has painted of him. CNN is worse than most in this propaganda. Chavez, like so many Canadians and Europeans, have rightly bashed Bush and the likes of CNN use his words to stir the pot to appeal to Conservatives.

[LynnTheDem]

31. Just ignore that standing ovation at the UN.

If only Americans knew what the world really thinks of bush (and of us)...

[INDIA]

28. A little off topic...

but do you REALLY have a problem with what we're doing in Afghanistan? Any idiot can see the fault with Iraq, but if we're guilty of ANYTHING in Afghanistan it's not doing ENOUGH. I, and a lot of other DU'ers (I think) are supporters of NATO and US involvement there. I mean, CANADA is there for chrissakes! Their foreign policy record is about as clean as they come.

[David__77]

29. I oppose occupation of Afghanistan.

I am in the minority I realize. All it is doing to once again strengthening the hand of the fundamentalists, like the Soviet occupation did in the 80's. Afghans are not "naturally" prone to such politics, but they are patriots and don't like Soviet puppets like Najib or US puppets like Karzai. They lack national legitimacy. Karzai was even a US corporate executive! There is no "winning" there, as time will surely tell.

[INDIA]

30. Fair nuff, you're entitled to your opinion. n/t

[LynnTheDem]

32. The world majority opposes the occupation of Afghanistan.

Fact.

You certainly are not in the minority.

[antiimperialist]

25. Chavez is not as extreme as some believe

The rich and the poor are doing good in his country. He's been in power since 1998 and the predicted full-blown class struggle has not occured.
The rich have not been stripped from their possessions except for some idle land that was not being used, and was distributed to low-income Venezuelans.

Chavez rhetoric might be fiery, but he's no Stalin. That's why unlike Stalin, he doesn't need to be a dictator. He makes sure he's elected by the people in fair, constitutional elections.

[antiimperialist]

17. First official bulletin: Chavez leads with 61%

The official electoral entity in Venezuela announces that, with 78% of votes counted, Chavez leads his opponent with 61% of votes.

It's over.

http://www.cne.gov.ve/noticiaDetallada.php?id=4050

[bluestateguy]

18. He's their choice. He has a mandate.

Though my opinion of him has cooled in recent months.

[Wednesdays]

19. It's all over except for

the charges of vote fraud. :eyes: My friend in Caracas told me the other day that no matter the outcome, there will be trouble.

[David__77]

21. A tremendous, crushing victory!

Now on to the next matter of business - rooting out the entrenched fascists and coup plotters.

[Eugene]

22. AP: Chavez wins re-election by wide margin

Chavez wins re-election by wide margin

3 minutes ago

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez won re-election
to another six-year term by a wide margin on Sunday.

Chavez had anticipated a crushing victory over tough-talking political
veteran Manuel Rosales, who galvanized the opposition by promising to
unseat Chavez, whom he accused of edging the country toward
totalitarianism.

-snip-

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061204/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/venezuela_election

[Adelante]

23. The CNE gave it to Chavez

With 78% of the vote in, Chavez has 61% and Rosales 38%. It can't go anywhere else from here.

[Pastiche423]

34. A big thank you

to the Venezuelan voters!