LatinFinance - Special Edition - August 2013 - 58

2
THE
FUTURE
OF LATIN
FINANCE

Despite two electoral defeats, Venezuela’s opposition leader Henrique
Capriles is still positioning himself as the face of pragmatic politics in
Latin America. By Girish Gupta

at his campaign headquarters in the caracas district of Bello monte, Henrique
capriles finishes off his weekly tV show
“We are all Venezuela” surrounded by a staff
less invigorated than it was 18 months ago.
the mood has darkened in the wake of
capriles’ two major election defeats – by
Hugo chávez in october 2012 and by his
successor nicolás maduro the following
april – and the numerous hurdles which
have been placed ahead of him.
and capriles’ show has been forced to
broadcast online after the country’s last
remaining “opposition” television station
abruptly took a more pro-government line
instead and stopped airing it.
Yet, the 41-year-old capriles remains defiantly optimistic. “Venezuela is destined for
change. Venezuela is going to change,” he
tells LatinFinance, as aides clear up camera
equipment around him.
When capriles lost to chávez, his 44%
share of the votes was nevertheless hugely
significant for a disparate opposition which
had struggled to unite during nearly a
decade and a half of self-styled Bolivarian
socialism.
capriles had been keen to adopt the
mantle of the new face of latin american
pragmatism, casting himself in the mold
of former Brazilian president luiz inácio
lula da Silva. “i 100% follow the model of
lula,” he said before opposition primaries
in february 2012. lula, however, endorsed
chávez and then maduro in subsequent
elections.
a year and a half of election defeats and
countless battles later, capriles is more
measured on his role as a Venezuelan lula.
“We must keep revising our model,”
he says. “fundamentally, i believe in the
progressive model in which public and
private sectors work together.” He favors
market-friendly economic policies with income redistribution, but has been guarded
on the details of his policy prescriptions,

58 l atinfina nce.com - 25 Years - August 2013

©REUTERS

Henrique Capriles
‘Pragmatism is winning’

CAPRILES: “The challenge is how economics and politics work together democratically”

in the hope of not alienating disillusioned
chavistas.
Regional shifts
Pragmatic leaders are emerging across the
region – from Peru’s ollanta Humala to Uruguay’s José mujica. Humala lost the 2006
presidential election having campaigned
in a red t-shirt and spouted anti-capitalist
rhetoric, happy to trumpet his friendship
with chávez. in elections five years later,
Humala shied away from Venezuela’s former president and smartened up in a shirt
and tie – and won.
capriles, though, notes that Venezuela
remains economically vulnerable to the political status quo. “in latin america, politics
can end up dragging the economy with it,”
says capriles.
He cites ecuador as an example. “economically, ecuador is fine. now if president
Rafael correa tries to make his project a
hegemonic one, controlling the institutions, controlling the media, controlling the

parties and power, you’re going to see that
politics will end up dragging the economy
down too because there is corruption; there
are abuses.” these, capriles says, “close the
window to democracy,” both in Venezuela,
ecuador and across the region.
“the challenge is how economics and
politics work together democratically,” says
capriles.
capriles lost his appeal to Venezuela’s
Supreme court over the results of the last
election. maduro won by less than 250,000
votes, according to the national electoral
council, though the opposition cried foul.
capriles was ordered to pay a fine of 10,000
bolívares ($1,700) for insulting the government and questioning the legitimacy of the
court. that same day, his chief of staff Óscar
lópez was arrested in what government
critics see as evidence of political oppression. maduro said that authorities had
captured “a chief of corruption and of the
mafia of the Venezuelan right.”
Yet, capriles takes such developments in
his stride, insisting he wants to proceed in a
“legitimate” manner, that is, within the rule
of law and with respect from the international community.
Ultimately, though, capriles says “the
question of whether the change happens tomorrow or not, i don’t know because there
are several scenarios.” these include a recall
referendum, which can take place in three
years, three years’ short of the presidential
term limit.
maduro lacks chávez’s popularity and
relies heavily on the momentum of his late
predecessor. local polls show that capriles
could win against maduro if elections were
held today, although no such poll is likely.
But with annual inflation at 42.6%, a soaring
crime rate and mounting shortages of basic
goods, maduro faces formidable challenges.
this stretches into maduro’s own socialist
Henrique Capriles Continued on page 61

http://LATINFINANCE.COM

LatinFinance - Special Edition - August 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of LatinFinance - Special Edition - August 2013