Venezuela's Ch&#225;vez nears a victory fed by free stew
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Buoyed by social 'missions,' the populist president leads by nearly 20 points ahead of Sunday's vote.
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Hugo ChÃ¡vez seems set for victory in todayÂs presidential election, due in part to a booming stock market.
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Oil prices simmered near new record  highs Monday even though early reports of victory for  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in a referendum on his rule  eased fears that unrest could upset the country's oil exports.
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Plans to form a single political party in Venezuela have taken a step forward with the first activists' meetings.
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CARACAS, Venezuela  - Venezuelan President Hugo  Chavez, a populist who survived a coup two years ago, appeared  on Monday to have weathered the latest challenge to what he  calls his revolution to help the poor as he declared victory in  a historic recall referendum.
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CARACAS, Venezuela  - Venezuela on Tuesday reactedwarmly to a U.S. overture seeking better relations, but urgedWashington to recognize that left-wing President Hugo Chavez'sgovernment was democratic, stable and independent.
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CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez appeared to have survived a popular referendum to oust him, according to early results Monday, while Venezuela's opposition swiftly claimed fraud.    Backers of the leftist populist president set off fireworks and began celebrating in the streets of the capital in the pre-dawn darkness upon hearing the news from Francisco Carrasquero, president of the National Elections Council...
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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez won international approval from supporters and detractors alike Monday on his decisive referendum victory over opponents trying to oust him.
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CARACAS -- Fresh from victory and emboldened by a decisive mandate, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has the opportunity to extend an olive branch to a seething opposition and a suspicious US ...
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CARACAS, Venezuela  - An audit of Venezuela's  recall referendum has confirmed that President Hugo Chavez won  fairly and found no evidence to support fraud charges,  observers and electoral council officials said on Saturday.
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Initial results from Venezuela suggest President Chavez has a commanding lead in a referendum on his rule.
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CARACAS, Venezuela, Dec. 2 -- Venezuela's business establishment often warns that if President Hugo ChÃÂ¡vez wins reelection Sunday, it won't take long before the populist firebrand transforms Venezuela into a communist state, dooming its oil-rich economy. Alejandro UscÃÂ¡tegui, an industrialist here, couldn't disagree more....
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Venezuela's left-wing President Hugo Chavez won a recall referendum on his divisive rule in a vote backed on Monday by international observers who found no "element of fraud."
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Venezuela's president, Hugo ChÃ¡vez, last night denied turning his country into a dictatorship and said democracy was blossoming despite an "imperialist conspiracy" to overthrow his government.
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An audit of Venezuela&#39;s recall referendum has confirmed that President Hugo ChÃ¡vez won fairly and found no evidence to support fraud charges, observers and electoral council officials said Saturday.
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CARACAS, Venezuela  - Venezuela's left-wing  President Hugo Chavez easily survived a referendum on whether  he should step down, and international observers on Monday  dismissed furious opposition charges of fraud.
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MARACAIBO, Venezuela  - President Hugo Chavez commanded a wide lead before Venezuela's election on Sunday, setting the stage for the self-styled revolutionary to intensify his anti-U.S., leftist crusade in Latin America.