CARACAS - Political ads exalting Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez as second only to God have offended opponents and added further controversy to an already spicy election campaign.
State TV is repeatedly playing a minute-long publicity spot
highlighting the story of Andres Ospino, who was granted a new
home for his family by a state building program. (To view the
ad, click on http://bit.ly/O5YTuh )
“I have a saying: ‘First God, second my Comandante,'” waxes
Ospino in his new apartment after a moody opening sequence of
dawn breaking over Caracas. He also calls Chavez “this Bolivar,”
in reference to 19th century South American independence hero
Simon Bolivar.
The publicity goes to the heart of Chavez’s push for
re-election on Oct. 7. The campaign is built around his
personality and depends heavily on the government’s popular
welfare policies that are paid for by oil revenue.
While the promise of a new home is a vote-winner among
Venezuela’s poor majority, opponents scoff at it as crass
electioneering and say the quasi-religious adulation of Chavez
is offensive in a Roman Catholic nation.
“It’s a vulgar copy of what they did in the Soviet Union
under Stalin, of what they still do in Communist Cuba and North
Korea,” wrote columnist Geronimo Figueroa in a provincial
Venezuelan newspaper.
The charismatic 57-year-old former soldier, who has
dominated the South American nation since assuming office in
1999, will face a single opposition “unity” candidate, Henrique
Capriles, in the election.
CHAVEZ LEADS POLLS
Chavez leads most opinion polls by a double-digit margin
thanks to his strong personality and enduring emotional
connection with the poor, sympathy over his battle with cancer,
the popularity of welfare programs and an uptick in the economy.
The “housing mission” is wildly popular with working-class
Venezuelans, and state TV repeatedly churns out statistics of
how many homes have been built around the nation.
Capriles, 39, is successfully projecting an image of youth
and energy in contrast to the president – who is largely
confined to his palace due to his illness – and is drawing large
crowds on a nationwide campaign tour.
In the growing publicity war, the opposition cannot match
the resources of Chavez, who frequently obliges both state and
private TV stations to carry his speeches and appearances live
in so-called “cadena,” or “chain,” broadcasts.
Capriles’ supporters did strike a chord with one
tongue-in-cheek Internet a d mimicking a sports company’s
publicity in Venezuela. In the original spot, a young soccer fan
is seen reluctantly removing a Brazil shirt – then joyfully
donning the colors of his “real passion,” Venezuela’s national
team.
In the satirical version, a man wearing the red of Chavez’s
ruling Socialist Party says a long farewell, before swapping it
for a blue T-shirt emblazoned with Capriles’ campaign slogan,
“There Is A Way,” then running off with a skip in his step. (To
view the ad, click on http://bit.ly/KeOFq4 )
While reducing opposition activists to tears of laughter,
the ad has drawn derision from the government.
“That loser needs to go the gym and do some exercise,”
mocked Chavez’s campaign head Jorge Rodriguez, in reference to
the actor’s generous waistline.
