By Jeremy Morgan
Latin American Herald Tribune staff

CARACAS -- The opposition won a minor moral victory when its candidate for Metropolitan Mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, announced that the government's contender, Aristóbulo Istúriz, hadn't turned up for a public debate in the run-up to Sunday's state and municipal elections.

There had been no explanation from Istúriz, a former sports and education minister and long-time Chavez mentor, as to why he apparently wasn't prepared to argue out the issues with Ledezma, a conservative who's been chief executive of the capital in the past. That left Ledezma free to accuse him of being afraid to do so.

Ledezma, who has been endorsed by the mainstream opposition as its single unity candidate for one of the potentially most powerful positions in Venezuelan politics, also won public support from Podemos.

This is the social democratic party that was once allied to the government but crossed the political divide in protest against President Hugo Chávez' failed attempt to redraw the Constitution at a referendum last December. Time was Podemos wouldn't have had anything to do with Ledezma.

Podemos Secretary General Ismael García again launched into the National Electoral Council (CNE), which the opposition widely suspects as being biased in favor of the government. He called for the CNE to ensure there was "rigorous application" of the electoral rules and complained that the government was "abusing" the state television Channel Eight.

The opposition stayed out on the campaign trail, taking potshots at the president. Morel Rodríguez, the opposition governor of Nueva Esparta who's seeking re-election, warned voters to take a look at Cuba before they went to vote.

This was an allusion to Chávez' admiration for and friendship with ageing Cuban leader Fidel Castro – from whom he's adopted the tendency to condemn the United States as "The Empire". As if to emphasize the point, Chavez went on TV and announced that Raul Castro would be coming to Venezuela -- the younger Castro's first trip abroad since assuming the mantle of Cuban leadership in February.

The hostile attitude taken by Chávez and his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) towards the other opposition governor, Manuel Rosales of Zulia, continued unabated. Vice President Ramón Carrizales said Rosales would "lose immunity" when he was no longer governor, implying that he'd then go to jail, as the president has frequently threatened.

Rosales' party, Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT), rejected the constant war of attrition against Rosales, who's been accused of a host of crimes ranging from drugs trafficking and illegal arms to corruption in the purchase of private properties.

UNT party president Omar Barboza rejected Chávez' conduct towards the governor as "unconstitutional and illegal." Rosales, unable to run for a third term as governor, is standing for mayor of the state capital, Maracaibo, and opinion polls have given him a strong lead.

The top echelon at Chávez' ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) showed signs of nervousness about how solid its support might be. PSUV party president Alberto Müller Rojas predicted a record turn-out but then warned that any party member who didn't vote would automatically "exclude themselves" from the PSUV.

In the immediate wake of the last year's lost referendum, Chávez publicly berated some of his supporters in Miranda state for not turning out, blaming them for denying him the chance to stand repeatedly for another presidential term – and in the process, betraying his "revolution."

As usual, Venezuelans, a nation of inveterate drinkers, will not be allowed to purchase or consume alcohol in public during the election process. The customary ban seems to get longer every time.

Interior and Justice Minister Tarek El Aissami announced that a ban would be in force from two o'clock on Friday afternoon until the same hour the following Monday. Voting takes place from six o'clock on Sunday morning until sundown.