* Pro-Chavez Venezuelans remember short-lived 2002 coup
* Opposition files election complaint against state TV
* Maduro heads into election as favorite over Capriles
By Todd Benson
CARACAS, April 13 (Reuters) – Hugo Chavez loyalists on
Saturday on the eve of a presidential vote celebrated across
Venezuela a milestone in the late leader’s socialist revolution,
irking the opposition that complained of a campaign tipped in
favor of the government.
Saturday marked the 11th anniversary of Chavez’s return to
power after a two-day coup tacitly backed by the United States.
The event galvanized support for the former paratrooper and
prompted him to push ahead with increasingly radical policies
that further polarized Venezuela.
Venezuelan state television broadcast a barrage of programs
glorifying Chavez that portrayed the opposition candidate in
Sunday’s election, Henrique Capriles, as the political heir of a
“right-wing oligarchy” that orchestrated the 2002 coup.
Pro-Chavez militias were also planning to commemorate the
failed coup in a rough Caracas neighborhood, an event that was
expected to double as an unofficial rally for government
candidate Nicolas Maduro despite a ban on formal campaigning in
the final two days before the vote.
Frustrated by what it sees as an unfair use of state funds
to buoy Maduro’s candidacy, the opposition lodged a formal
complaint with the electoral authority alleging that state TV
channel Venezolana de Television (VTV) was violating election
laws by broadcasting “biased political content.”
“It is unacceptable that an official channel breaks the
rules,” Capriles’ campaign team said in a statement that called
on election authorities to take immediate action against VTV.
In its complaint, the opposition also alleged that Argentine
soccer great Diego Maradona had flouted Venezuelan election laws
by publicly endorsing Maduro, who is favored to win on Sunday.
Maradona, who is well-known for his leftist politics and was
close to Chavez, flew in on Thursday to join Maduro in his final
campaign rally and spent much of Friday by his side.
A representative from Venezuela’s Election Council said it
had not commented on the opposition complaint.
Meanwhile, VTV broadcast live footage of Foreign Minister
Elias Jaua touring an apparently abandoned construction site of
an athletic complex in Miranda, the state that the sports-loving
Capriles governs, warning viewers that only a Maduro victory
could ensure prosperity for all Venezuelans.
“This is another white elephant,” said Jaua, who previously
served as Chavez’s vice president. “Tomorrow is a historical day
in which we’ll vote to strengthen democracy and our revolution.”
BITTER CAMPAIGN
After formal campaigning came to a close on Thursday night,
the 40-year-old Capriles relaxed the next day by playing
basketball in Petare, the largest slum in Caracas. He has
campaigned on an image of youth and energy, almost always
sporting a Venezuela baseball cap.
The campaign to succeed Chavez, who died on March 5 after a
two-year battle with cancer, has been especially acrimonious,
with both sides spouting harsh language and personal insults.
At stake is control of the world’s largest oil reserves,
economic aid to a host of left-leaning governments in Latin
America, and the future of what Chavez called “21st century
socialism,” a mix of hard-left politics, heavy government
spending on the poor and state control over the economy.
The Maduro camp has relentlessly accused Capriles of being a
spoiled rich kid who plans to dismantle the oil-funded social
welfare programs that made Chavez a hero to the poor, a claim
the opposition has repeatedly denied.
For his part, Capriles has described Maduro, a 50-year-old
former bus driver, as a faint echo of Chavez and a political
novice without a coherent plan to address problems such as
rampant violent crime, high inflation and a slowing economy.
To be sure, both candidates have offered few specifics on
policies they would adopt as president, leaving many Venezuelans
to lament the lack of a serious political debate.
“We haven’t talked seriously about the grave problems in our
economy. We don’t really know how we are going to solve the
crime problem. We haven’t discussed the militia, education, or
our crumbling infrastructure,” wrote Juan Nagel, a contributor
to the Caracas Chronicles, a prominent Venezuelan political blog
that backs the opposition.
Polls open on Sunday at 6 a.m. (1030 GMT) and voting will
run until 6 p.m. (2230 GMT), though it could drag on later if
there are still lines. Results are expected on Sunday night.
(Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Vicki Allen)
