Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is a divisive leftist, but nonetheless has bested (fairly or unfairly, as some say) his political challengers in two re-elections and one recall referendum since taking office in 1999.
With the next presidential elections a year away, the Venezuelan opposition is once again hopeful of a victory. The parties that make up the opposition were buoyed recently by the Inter-American Human Rights Court ruling that opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez had been unjustly banned from running for the presidency by the Chavez government.
Meanwhile, Miranda state Gov. Henrique Capriles' profile continues to rise as he polls at the top among potential presidential candidates.
Another of the top contenders for the opposition, Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma, spoke with CNN Tuesday about why the challengers are optimistic about 2012.
"Today's opposition is more balanced and has a joint agenda," Ledezma said as he compared the current race with previous failed attempts.
The Venezuelan opposition in the past was more fractious and more prone to anxiety when they didn't see an immediate impact from their campaigns, he said. This time, there is a strategy and a set of rules everyone is following, starting with a primary process that he said all the opposition parties will back.
Even though he is in competition with Capriles and Lopez, Ledezma said they do not see each other as foes.
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