In an interview on his campaign bus, Henrique Capriles contrasted Chavez's reliance on TV appearances with his own tireless crisscrossing of the country and said the president's use of public funds made it a David versus Goliath election clash.
The 40-year-old state governor, picked by Venezuela's opposition parties as their best hope for ending Chavez's nearly 14-year rule in South America's biggest oil exporter, said the socialist leader's support was ebbing away. "I don't expect a photo finish. We're going to have a resounding victory," he told Reuters, hurtling between rallies in small towns around Lake Valencia, a region of sweltering agricultural plains rolling to jungle-clad mountains.
"I've never lost an election," the confident Capriles added, referring to his successful campaigns over the last 15 years to become Venezuela's youngest legislator, a mayor and then governor of Miranda state.
Opinion polls are hugely controversial in Venezuela and have given widely varying results throughout this campaign. But most of the best-known surveys give Chavez a solid double-digit lead, although one puts Capriles roughly level. A couple of lesser-known pollsters give Capriles the lead.
The opposition believes many Venezuelans, intimidated by Chavez's authoritarian style and past reprisals in the job market against those who have voted against him, may be hiding their true intentions.
Sweating profusely and gulping water after a grueling walking tour of Guigue, a shabby settlement of bustling streets and small Chinese-run stores, Capriles said he had visited more than 150 towns and villages since the official campaign began. "Physical presence beats posters," said Capriles, who hopes his youth and vigor will convey a message of change. "The government's candidate is only seen on billboards. I've been to more towns since July 1 than he probably has in 10 years."
The 58-year-old Chavez has looked more energetic in recent weeks than at any time in the past year, during which he underwent two rounds of surgery and lengthy periods of treatment in Cuba for an undisclosed form of pelvic cancer. The president says he is completely cured and has returned both to his old jokey, talkative self, as well as a whirlwind schedule of near-daily TV appearances.
He has attended more than a dozen big rallies around the country, but he normally arrives riding on top of an open-top truck before speaking from a stage, unlike Capriles who plunges into homes and crowds wherever he goes. Polls show most Venezuelans believe Chavez has overcome his illness, though doctors say that no one can declare themselves cancer-free until several years after the last recurrence.
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