CARACAS, Venezuela – A general expectation that Hugo Chavez's hand-picked successor will win next weekend's presidential election didn't dim the spirits of the tens of thousands backers of challenger Henrique Capriles, who jammed the capital's center on Sunday.
Most of the people who converged by foot in the city center on a hot, sunny afternoon tried to shrug off forecasts of victory for Nicolas Maduro, who was sworn in as acting president after Hugo Chavez died March 5 following a long battle with cancer.
Chavez had defeated Capriles in October, but by the slimmest margin of his 14-year tenure as president.
Maduro, who rose from bus driver and union organizer to foreign minister under Chavez, is expected to benefit from an emotional outpouring of solidarity among Chavistas who have benefited from the generous social welfare state he created under the socialist banner.
But many critics contend that Maduro has been saddled with a fiscal hangover due to heavy Chavez spending ahead of October's vote.
Jesus Barroso, a 52-year-old retiree, said he believes Maduro will win handily next Sunday. But he predicted Maduro would not be able complete the six-year term because economic and social woes would prompt Venezuelans to remove him through a recall.
"I don't think he'll last very long in the presidency," Barroso said.
Supporters of Capriles chanted anti-government slogans and waved red, yellow and blue Venezuelan flags as they converged on a main avenue in downtown Caracas, where the 40-year-old governor of central Miranda state, was scheduled to speak.
Upbeat demonstrators danced to music sound trucks, which blasted "Fresh Lie," a newly composed song by Puerto Rican salsa musician Willie Colon that pokes fun at Maduro.
Capriles has repeatedly accused Maduro of failing to resolve pressing problems including frequent power outages, crumbling infrastructure, shortages of basic foods and double-digit inflation, and supporters say Capriles can do better.
"He's capable of offering opportunities to get us out of this disaster," said Maria De Llano, noting that she has difficulty finding some medicines and foods due to sporadic shortages.
Meanwhile, Maduro invoked Chavez yet again during a rally in the southern state of Apure, telling his backers that "El Comandante" is watching over them from Heaven.
"He's protecting us," Maduro said. "Chavez, we are with your love ... We are not going to let you down."
A recent poll by the independent polling firm Datanalisis showed Capriles trailed Maduro 49 percent to 35 percent in a sampling of 800 voters from March 11-13. The poll, with 16 percent of respondents undecided, had a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.
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Christopher Toothaker on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ctoothaker
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