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Fragile economy awaits Chavez successor

April 10, 2013 22:45
A customer entered Gustavo Arbelo's grocery store in a blue-collar Caracas neighborhood, asking if he had any rice or flour. No, he said, pointing to bare shelves. Toilet paper? He once had two months' worth of it stocked up. "Today I don't even have one roll," the bespectacled, mustachioed shopkeeper said, checking his books behind the counter in the hillside Petare neighborhood. "We've had shortages of every product," Arbelo, 55, said. "There's no rice; there's no detergent; there's no soap."

Venezuela closes border with Colombia ahead of presidential elections

April 10, 2013 13:20
Venezuelan authorities on Tuesday closed its border with Colombia on the eve of the country's presidential elections, a military official said. According to Gen.

Days before Venezuela vote, Maduro vows wage hikes

April 9, 2013 15:45
By Mario Naranjo CARACAS (Reuters) - Acting President Nicolas Maduro promised on Tuesday to hike Venezuela's minimum wage by about 40 percent if he is elected in a weekend vote to replace late socialist leader Hugo Chavez. His opponent Henrique Capriles has vowed a similar salary rise as both men adopt some Chavez-style populism on the campaign trail ahead of Sunday's vote.

Chavez gone, but family still has clout in Venezuela

April 9, 2013 07:31
By Brian Ellsworth SABANETA, Venezuela (Reuters) - Sitting under the shade of mango trees in the childhood backyard of late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro kicked off his election campaign with a sentimental chat with members of the ex-president's family.

Venezuela's Maduro vows to fulfill Chavez legacy

April 9, 2013 02:16
Acting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pledged Friday to continue to fulfill the late president Hugo Chavez's legacy at a ceremony marking the first month of his death. "It has been one month since he passed away, one month that has been marked by feelings that have touched our soul," Maduro said in his address to the ceremony at the Military Academy of Caracas attended by commanders of the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB). Maduro stressed the legacy of "loyalty and commitment to defense and development" left by Chavez, which let Venezuela "stand at the forefront in p

Past haunts Venezuelan opposition ahead of election

April 8, 2013 23:15
The final stretch of Venezuela's race to replace Hugo Chavez coincides with a delicate anniversary for the opposition: 11 years since a brief coup against the late leftist leader. Acting President Nicolas Maduro used it as a foil against opposition rival Henrique Capriles at a campaign rally on Monday, accusing him of being "the same" as coup leader Pedro Carmona.

Shrine to mourn and celebrate Venezuela's Chavez

April 6, 2013 11:46
It's a humble place, tucked along a noisy street in a Caracas slum that overlooks Venezuela's presidential palace far below and, beyond, the towering Avila mountain. This people's shrine - its name, "Saint Hugo Chavez del 23," inscribed in white paint - has been visited by tens of thousands of Venezuelans to pay homage to a president for some, a saint for others. Beneath a simple tin roof, there are sunflowers and votive candles, their dried wax drippings a testament to the many who've come since Chavez died of cancer on March 5.

Venezuela's future uncertain one month after Chavez's death

April 4, 2013 17:00
One month after the death of Venezuela's larger-than-life president Hugo Chavez, the oil-rich nation faces an uncertain political and economic future, as it finds itself in the throes of a nasty election campaign to replace him. Chavez's image is ever present on Caracas' lampposts and buildings, while his chosen successor -- acting President Nicolas Maduro -- has eulogized his mentor every day since Chavez died on March 5.

Campaign to replace Chavez kicks off in Venezuela

April 2, 2013 21:45
The presidential campaign to replace Venezuela's Hugo Chavez formally kicked off Tuesday, with his chosen successor vowing to carry on the deceased leader's socialist "revolution." As acting President Nicolas Maduro visited Chavez's hometown of Sabaneta in the west, opposition leader Henrique Capriles was heading to the eastern state of Monagas at the start of the short campaign ahead of the April 14 vote. "The bus that is this fatherland has just one driver, and I am your man," insisted Maduro, playing up his humble past as a bus driver and union organizer.

Venezuela opens campaign to replace Chavez

April 2, 2013 14:46
Venezuela's presidential campaign to replace Hugo Chavez formally kicked off on Tuesday, with his chosen successor, acting President Nicolas Maduro, vowing to honor his socialist legacy at the late leader's childhood home. As Maduro visited Chavez's hometown of Sabaneta in the west, opposition leader Henrique Capriles was heading to the opposite side of the country in the eastern state of Monagas for the short campaign ahead of the April 14 vote.
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