Venezuela Picks Chavez Successor

“In an unexpectedly close race, Venezuelans narrowly voted to continue Hugo Chávez’s revolution, electing his handpicked political heir, Nicolás Maduro, to serve the remainder of his six-year term as president,” the New York Times reports.

“But the thin margin of victory could complicate the task of governing for Mr. Maduro, emboldening the political opposition and possibly undermining Mr. Maduro’s stature within Mr. Chávez’s movement.”

The Washington Post notes that polls conducted days before the vote showed Maduro with a
double-digit lead.