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February 13th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda Capriles is a moderate who says he is an admirer of the approach of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
In order to compete, Capriles probably will need to win over voters who leaned pro-Chavez in the past, who have grown disillusioned with the government and who don’t strongly identify with either side.
“Confrontation and fear are going to be part of that past,” Capriles said after voting. “Hope can deal with any obstacle they put in our way. Today is a day of hope.”
Candidacies for other posts including state governors were also being decided in the primaries. Venezuelans living abroad were able to cast ballots in cities from Miami to Madrid.
‘A new day dawning for Venezuela’
Venezuela has grown heavily polarized, with most either admiring or despising Chavez. About one-fourth of voters are in neither political camp, and in that group about 10 to 15 percent are likely to cast ballots, said pollster Luis Vicente Leon. Many of the swing voters are young people who have grown up during Chavez’s presidency, Leon said.
Recent polls before the primary vote showed Capriles with about 40 percent support among opposition voters.
Mercedes Aponte, a 60-year-old high school teacher, said she’s convinced Capriles would bring improvements in education, health care and anti-crime efforts.
“Through him, there’s hope. It’s a new day dawning for Venezuela,” Aponte said, waiting to vote in a line that snaked around the block in downtown Caracas.
Capriles might not be able to compete with Chavez’s government money nor the president’s ability to take over the airwaves of all TV and radio stations when he deems appropriate. But Capriles can count on ample campaign funding from anti-Chavez donors, as well as high visibility in opposition-aligned media including the television channel Globovision, private radio stations and newspapers.
The country’s opposition coalition, which united to hold a presidential primary vote for the first time, has become better organized and will be an important ally in mobilizing voters for Capriles against Chavez’s campaign machine.
The results were announced with 95 percent of ballots counted, and Capriles dominated the field with more than 1.8 million votes. Several of the opposition contenders called the higher-than-expected turnout a victory.
The grandson of Polish fugitives from Nazi persecution, Capriles says he admires Brazil’s “modern left” economic model, which has helped pull tens of millions of people out of poverty through a mix of state spending and respect for private enterprise.
Ideological crusades
He has promised to address the day-to-day concerns of Venezuelans such as high crime, unemployment and constantly rising prices, and spend less time on ideological crusades.
Capriles has indicated he will steer Venezuela’s international alliances away from Chavez’s faraway, ideologically motivated friendships with Iran, Belarus, Syria and other anti-U.S. governments.
It will be a hard sell, however, to convince voters in Venezuela’s rural backwaters and urban slums won over by Chavez’s potent combination of fierce nationalism, abundant charisma and huge welfare programs.
State media immediately began describing Capriles as a “right-wing” candidate.
“The guy may have won the primaries, but he’s so lacking in charisma, it’s not going to be easy for him … ” sniped deputy foreign minister Temir Porras via Twitter.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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