Thursday, November 2, 2006 · Last updated 3:48 a.m. PT

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/nation...Christmas.html

Chavez angers opposition leaders
By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Flush with oil profits, President Hugo Chavez handed public workers $3 billion in Christmas bonuses 1 1/2 months early, angering opposition leaders who called it part of a cynical pattern of public handouts ahead of a December presidential election.

Opponents said the government spending spree includes free commuter train rides, a free rock concert, and a powerful propaganda machine that has painted pro-Chavez slogans on buses and handed out T-shirts bearing the image of the former paratroop commander known affectionately as "El Comandante."

Chavez did not attend Wednesday's ceremony where the bonuses were announced. But during the inauguration of a medical clinic broadcast on state television, he wished Venezuelans happy holidays, saying everyone would soon be singing local carols called "gaitas" and eating "hallacas," corn flour tamales wrapped in plantain leaves and shared among family and friends throughout December.

"The beginning of the holiday season: November and December. Today the gaitas begin to ring out and we can eat one or two hallacas," Chavez said.

Chavez has predicted a landslide victory in the Dec. 3 elections, vowing to win the support of more than 10 million of Venezuela's 16 million registered voters.

A close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Chavez has vowed to continue governing the world's fifth-largest oil exporter until 2021 or longer. He has asked the National Assembly, packed with his political allies, to consider changing Venezuela's constitution next year to allow indefinite re-election. It now allows two consecutive presidential terms.

Supporters of Manuel Rosales, Chavez's main challenger, accused the president of trying to boost his re-election bid with the bonus, equivalent to 3 months salary for each of Venezuela's roughly 1 million government employees. The bonuses are usually paid in mid-December.

"He's trying to move Christmas forward, speeding up the economic growth that occurs at that time of year, so the people forget a little bit about what we have been proposing," said Jose Vicente Carrasquero, Rosales' campaign organizer.

Carrasquero said the bonuses were just the latest "populist measures" that have include no charge for rides on a new commuter train until January, and a free concert headlined by the popular rock act Manu Chao.


"We are seeing a very pronounced tendency by the president to use of all the state's resources at his disposal," he said. "It's just unfair."

Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel rejected the opposition's allegations, saying Chavez chose not to preside over Wednesday's bonus ceremony because doing so could influence the campaign.

"This bonus is not a manner of buying a vote as it's been said within the evil-intentioned circles of the political adversaries," Rangel said. "It's an act of love."

The crowd responded with chants of "They Won't Return! They Won't Return!" - a catchphrase referring to political parties that governed this oil-rich but poverty-stricken South American nation for four decades before Chavez's first election in 1998.

He was re-elected in 2000 after pushing through a new constitution that lengthened the presidential term from five to six years.

An October survey by Zogby International, conducted with support from the University of Miami School of Communication, found 59 percent support for Chavez, compared to 24 percent for Rosales, the governor of western Zulia state, who is backed by the main opposition parties. The face-to-face survey of 800 registered voters was conducted between Oct. 1 and Oct. 16 and had a 3.5 percent margin of error.

Rosales has done better in recent polls released by Venezuelan firms. Over 20 other candidates are also running, but none have garnered significant support.

Jag