CARACAS, Venezuela – More than seven years into the government of the leftist president Hugo Chavez, people here barely raise an eyebrow to having former Marxist guerrillas in positions of power. One is foreign minister, another is the chief executive of the government’s aluminum producer and yet another was one of Mr. Chāvez’s first representatives to OPEC.

Now, one of the country’s most eminent ex-guerrillas, Teodoro Petkoff Malec, is seeking to oust Mr. Chavez in this year’s presidential election. Mr. Petkoff is basing his bid on what he calls impeccable leftist credentials and a promise to end the polarization of Venezuelan society between Mr. Chavez’s supporters and opponents.

With Mr. Chavez far ahead in the polls, Mr. Petkoff’s campaign as an independent appears quixotic. But it is no more surprising than a political career that has spanned half a century and included not only armed struggle against the government and spectacular prison escapes but also a rebirth as a congressman and, later, as a planning minister who created an austerity program that won backing from the International Monetary Fund.
nytimes.com

The people of Venezuela will not be fooled by this US-shill.

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