Faith in Chavez starts to wane

Support for Chavez has been decreasing, even among his supporters, according to a recent article in the New York Times. The article cites ongoing economic and social problems as the reasons for increasing criticism of Chavez. Additionally, it says that voters are becoming more and more wary of his moves to expand state control of the economy and society. Chavez’s consolidation of power has guaranteed that he’ll be in office until at least 2011 and there’s no way for the electorate to change that under the current laws, making it so that he has little, if any accountability to the electorate. However, the article raises the issue of divisions within his own party and rising popularity of opposition candidates at the local and state level.