Venezuela's next presidential election approaches.
Candidates:
Nicolas Maduro -- United Socialist Party candidate, Interim President, former VP, Chavez' hand-picked successor.
Henrique Capriles Radonski -- Justice First candidate; center-right; has the advantage of recent campaign-trail experience, since he challenged Chavez for the presidency last October.
This election can be seen as a test of what the people think of Chavez' "Bolivarian Revolution," i.e., enough to keep going with it without Chavez himself at the helm, or not?
It can also be seen as a test of Venezuelan democracy. For the past 12 years international observers have been judging Venezuelan elections free and fair, while Chavez' opponents have been insisting they cannot be free and fair so long as Chavez dominates the media, etc. Do those factors still apply post-Chavez?
Candidates:
Nicolas Maduro -- United Socialist Party candidate, Interim President, former VP, Chavez' hand-picked successor.
Henrique Capriles Radonski -- Justice First candidate; center-right; has the advantage of recent campaign-trail experience, since he challenged Chavez for the presidency last October.
This election can be seen as a test of what the people think of Chavez' "Bolivarian Revolution," i.e., enough to keep going with it without Chavez himself at the helm, or not?
It can also be seen as a test of Venezuelan democracy. For the past 12 years international observers have been judging Venezuelan elections free and fair, while Chavez' opponents have been insisting they cannot be free and fair so long as Chavez dominates the media, etc. Do those factors still apply post-Chavez?
