Henrique Capriles Presidential Bid: Venezuelan Opposition Leader Officially Announces; Can He Win?

Governor of the Venezuelan state of Miranda, and leader of the center-right opposition party Henrique Capriles officially announced his candidacy to succeed late President Hugo Chávez. The news comes as Chávez's ruling PPD party was looking to elect Vice President Nicolás Maduro as the nation's next leader.

It is also apparent that tense and terse battles of political showmanship are not unique to the United States. At a recent speech, Maduro called Capriles a "losing, miserable candidate." Capriles responded by accusing Maduro and his party of orchestrating a behind-the-scenes operation to insure the election of Maduro, a Chávez stalwart, to power. He also criticized the country's defense minister for making partisan statements in support of Maduro. It is against the nation's constitution for military officials to endorse political candidates.

Political analysts inside Venezuela say the key to a Capriles victory is to tie Maduro to the policies of Chávez without attacking the late leader, whose popularity is still through the roof with many citizens continuing to publicly mourn him. A Reuters story compared the public outpouring to that of the passing of Argentine leader Juan Perón.

A separate controversy is brewing over the official inauguration of Maduro as acting president. Venezuelan law states the speaker of the national assembly is to be the temporary leader.