Venezuelans voted in state elections today that test President Hugo Chavez's grip after a decade in power as he seeks to renew his drive toward socialism in the Opec nation despite falling oil prices.
Mr Chavez, still popular among the majority poor for spending oil wealth on schools, clinics and subsidized food, needs his allies to score clear victories so he can advance measures allowing him to stay in office after his term ends in 2012.
The anti-US leader of Latin America's radical left won 20 of 22 states in the last local elections four years ago. He is set to gain a majority again but the strength of his win hinges on several states where he appears to have only a slim lead.
Fireworks, blaring music and pre-dawn bugle calls awakened Caracas residents, who calmly lined up at polls before they shut at 4 p.m. The government said voting centers around the country were functioning normally.
Mr Chavez voted in a famously left-wing district of Caracas and said he will drive forward his program of drastic reforms to institutions and high social spending even though oil has fallen to $50 a barrel from a peak of $147 in July.
"Even with oil prices at $50 or even less, the Venezuelan economy will keep moving forward, nothing will stop the advance of Venezuela and the construction of Bolivarian socialism," he said.
Venezuela's government relies on oil for more than half its income.
If the opposition can grab the populous and prosperous states that pollsters say are still in play, it would keep the political momentum and be emboldened to stifle the ambitions of a man who came to power in 1999 and wants to rule for decades.
The voters' main concerns are the government's failure to control crime and inflation, which helped the opposition defeat the December 2007 referendum proposing that Chavez be allowed to run for re-election.
"I voted for the opposition, they are the defenders of democracy and they are the ones who are going to win," said Yulitza Manzano (20) a student in the western state of Zulia where posts for governors and mayors are hotly contested.
Reuters