Chavez was addressing credit-holders and members of community councils throughout Venezuela assembled to celebrate the 10 years of the Banco del Pueblo. Chavez told his audience that it was necessary to win the next elections with a knockout and has coined a new name for his opponents, "Los Amargados" (Sourpusses) because, he quips, they never smile and their main political objective is still the overriding obsession to get rid of Chavez without drawing up or offering a political alternative.

The President warned his followers not to be complacent about opposition chances, stating that a threat is a threat, no matter how small. The aim of the opposition, Chavez insists, is to win seats in the National Assembly to sabotage and push back government law proposals, such as the lands law or micro-finance law.

The opposition has been holding several exploratory talks to seek some kind of agreement about choosing candidates to represent them in the parliamentary elections but at the moment there seems to be no white smoke emerging as political parties and leaders of non-governmental organizations thrash out percentages and leadership credentials.

Chavez is correct in pointing out that for all appearances top of the bill for the majority of opposition followers both in parties and civil sector groups is to get rid of Chavez.

According to a poll issued by Datanalisis, all the opposition leaders together only managed to register 11.7% of voting intentions of those interviewed and not one of them passed the 3.1% mark, while Chavez' popularity dropped 15% in the less favored sectors of society, even though he is still way ahead at 50%.

The report claimed that the "neither-nor" sector has increased 8.9%.

Patrick J. O'Donoghue
news.editor@vheadline.com