CARACAS: Hugo Chavez pledged to become a “better president” and work with the opposition after winning a tough re-election battle that betrayed simmering discontent at his socialist revolution.
The leftist president’s victory was a relief to like-minded allies in the region, with Cuban leader Raul Castro hailing his friend’s “historic triumph,” while the United States urged him to listen to the opposition.
After almost 14 years in power, Chavez survived cancer and the most formidable opponent of his presidency, youthful business leader and former state governor Henrique Capriles, to win another six-year term.
The anti-US firebrand vowed to deepen his oil-funded socialist revolution after hailing his “perfect” victory.
But he also reached out to disenchanted voters by pledging to work with the opposition, a tacit acceptance that this was a narrower victory than in the past and that Venezuela is a country very much divided.
“I want to include everybody, including sectors of the opposition,” Chavez, wearing his trademark red shirt, told thousands of cheering supporters from the balcony of his Miraflores presidential residence.
“I commit to being a better president than I’ve been these past few years,” the 58-year-old leader said. Alluding to his cancer battle, he said: “I thank God and ask him for life and health to keep serving the Venezuelan people.”
The political veteran also held his hand out directly to his opponent. “Believe me: I had a friendly phone chat with Henrique Capriles! I invited him to work for national unity, respecting our differences!” he wrote on Twitter.
A short time later, a less effusive Capriles wrote: “I received a phone call from President Chavez. In the name of more than 6,500,000 Venezuelans I made a call for national unity and respect for everyone,” he wrote.
Picked by the once divided opposition in an unprecedented primary, Capriles, 40, was able to woo voters from Chavez with promises to curb rising crime, reform the oil-dependent economy and unite the polarized nation.
After a massive 81 percent turnout, Chavez won 55 percent, or nearly eight million votes, while Capriles gave the opposition its best score against the president, 44.39 percent, or 6.4 million ballots.
In 2006, Chavez thrashed opposition candidate Manuel Rosales, taking 62 percent of the vote and winning by a thundering 25-point margin.
“The opposition is strengthened, with a clear leadership and many options for the future,” Luis Vicente Leon, president of the Datanalisis polling firm, told AFP after Sunday’s result.
“Chavez won without a doubt, I’m not minimizing it, he’s a political monster. But it’s not the same elections as 2006. Now the opposition has a leader who can seize on its unity,” he said.
Chavez can still count on a devout following among the country’s long-neglected poor, who adore him for the social “missions” that give them free health care, subsidized food and sometimes housing.
“Venezuela will continue its march toward the democratic socialism of the 21st century,” Chavez said in his victory speech.
But Capriles attracted huge crowds at rallies, and his picture could be seen on some homes in Chavez slum bastions after the sports-mad candidate visited 300 towns in a high-octane campaign across the nation.
While accepting defeat with grace, Capriles vowed to continue fighting for the 6.4 million people who voted for him.
“The people contributed to opening a new path and the path is here,” said Capriles. “I am also on this path and I won’t leave almost half the country alone.”
Capriles supporters, many in tears and disbelief, massed outside his campaign headquarters. “I’m disappointed but not defeated,” said Rosana Gonzalez, a 25-year-old student.
The United States and the European Union urged Chavez to extend a hand to the opposition.
“We have our differences with President Chavez,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told journalists. “But we congratulate the Venezuelan people” on the peaceful manner in which the election was carried out, he added.
“We believe that the views of the more than six million people who voted for the opposition should be taken into account going forward,” said William Ostick, a US State Department spokesman.
The fate of Chavez, a fierce US critic and the leading voice of Latin America’s left, was closely watched by communist ally Cuba, which heavily depends on Venezuela’s oil, and other regional partners.
Castro pledged Cuba’s “solidarity and unbreakable support,” while Bolivian President Evo Morales called his fellow leftist’s triumph “a victory for the Bolivarian alliance and all of Latin America.”
Chavez reaches out to opposition after victory
Chavez reaches out to opposition after victory
Filipinos celebrate Christmas on a budget amid soaring costs
- Filipinos are choosing modest Christmas gifts, scaling down year-end festivities
- Millions look to content creators for tips on how to spend less for Christmas dinner
MANILA: As the predominantly Catholic Philippines celebrates one of its most important annual holidays on Thursday, many Filipinos have been forced to rethink their traditional Christmas celebrations amid soaring prices.
This year, street food vendor Gemma Gracia is among those who will keep her business open during the holidays.
“As a vendor, I’ve felt the prices go up since I also still buy at the market for our needs and for our selling needs,” she told Arab News.
But as celebrating Christmas was important for her family, the 39-year-old has allocated 1,000 Philippine pesos ($17) for a family meal out at Jollibee, the Philippines’ biggest fast-food chain restaurant.
“When you don’t have food to share on the table on this holiday, it’s a sad day. That’s why we make sure that we always have something on the table each year,” she said.
For many Filipinos, the time-honored traditions of Noche Buena, or Christmas Eve, is the most awaited part of this holiday season, when dinner tables across the country are filled with a hearty selection of traditional dishes.
Noche Buena, which is Spanish for “the good night,” is the dinner that follows the last evening mass of the season, known as misa de gallo or simbang gabi.
In the Philippines, such festive staples include meaty Filipino-style spaghetti and hamonado, the local version of a Christmas ham that usually serves as the centerpiece of Christmas dinner tables.
But the pinch from rising prices has affected Filipino shoppers in recent years, forcing them to adjust according to their budget.
Although the country’s central bank said inflation had eased to 1.5 percent in November, many say the statistics do not reflect on-the-ground realities, where people reel from rising retail prices, shrinking portions and diminishing purchasing power of the peso.
Allan Manansala, a 48-year-old construction worker in Manila, told Arab News that he is expecting to spend 5,000 pesos for his family of five in 2025, nearly a third of his monthly wage and about a fifth higher than what he spent in previous years.
“I might have to skip giving my children gifts this year because of the costs,” he said.
To get around the high costs, Manansala is skipping the Noche Buena festivities altogether and has instead decided to splurge on New Year’s Eve dinner, which is also a significant occasion in the Philippines.
Others, like Allan Melenio, look for different ways to save up.
“Our relative owns a meat shop, so we’re able to save on that since the prices are quite low,” he told Arab News. “But everywhere else, a piece of meat can cost so much.”
While the economy has forced Filipinos to make smarter choices and get creative, content creators are among those offering ideas to address consumers’ woes, teaching people how to stretch their meager budgets for the holidays.
One such tip came from Ninong Ry, a food content creator who challenged himself to prepare an eight-dish Noche Buena dinner with a budget of 1,500 pesos. Posted about two weeks before Christmas, his one-hour YouTube video has since garnered more than 1.4 million views.
The video was also a response to comments from Philippine Trade Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque, who suggested last month that 500 pesos was enough for a family of four to host a modest Christmas Eve dinner, sparking anger among Filipinos who said she was out of touch with reality.
Jelmark Toqueb, who works as a plumber in Manila, said that the 500-peso budget was unrealistic.
“It is clearly not enough. (Five hundred pesos) is not even enough for you to cook spaghetti with meat. Maybe just the noodles and the sauce,” he told Arab News.
For 32-year-old Toqueb and his wife, who works as a public school teacher, the holiday season remains a cherished occasion to spend quality time with the family. As their Christmas tradition involves gift-giving, he chose more modest presents this year to circumvent the high costs.
“The prices now are different even from last year, (when they were) already high,” Toqueb said. “Even if the gift is simple, it’s fine. It’s the thought that counts.”
