EUGENIO MARTINEZ
EL UNIVERSAL

An unprecedented electoral campaign for the Venezuelan Presidency began on August 1st, as for the first time in Venezuelan contemporary history the acting Venezuelan President is running for re-election in next December 3rd polls.

President Hugo Chávez is facing a segmented and divided opposition with diverging stances regarding the method to select a single opposition presidential candidate. However the method, the deadline for official registration of candidates with the National Electoral Council (CNE) is August 24th.

The presidential electoral campaign is to end next December 1st at midnight. Ten opposition presidential pre-candidates are running in the contest. Two of the opposition candidates, namely Teodoro Petkoff and Roberto Smith, are not participating in the primaries to be held next August 13th. Another Chávez' rival -comedian and businessman Benjamín Rausseo, known as "Er Conde del Guácharo" (The Earl of Guácharo)- embodies the "anti-politician", according to his detractors, and his political organization has not been registered officially with CNE.

Questions have also emerged regarding the candidacy of northwestern Zulia state Governor Manuel Rosales. Should he resign from his position or should he leave temporarily? Not even CNE has been able to answer this question. Next Wednesday, the top electoral body is to seek a response from the Electoral Court, Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ).

Opposition presidential pre-candidates include:

MANUEL ROSALES
A force from Zulia state.
Born in 1952 in Santa Bárbara del Zulia, he is the Governor of northwestern Zulia state. He is a teacher. Rosales is a co-founder of Sur del Lago University. He was a youth leader with Acción Democrática party. He was a deputy at the Zulia Legislative Assembly (1983-1994). Rosales was the Mayor of Maracaibo (capital of Zulia state) in 1996-2000. In 2000, he was elected as Governor of Zulia state and founded his political organization Un Nuevo Tiempo (A New Era).

JULIO BORGES
For justice.
Born in Caracas in 1969, Julio Borges is the coordinator and presidential candidate of opposition Primero Justica (Justice First) party. He graduated from the Law School of the Andrés Bello Catholic University in 1993. He obtained a Master's Degree in Political Philosophy in the United States in 1995. He obtained a Master's Degree in Public Administration and Latin American Studies from Oxford University (1995-1996). He is a co-founder of Primero Justicia (1992). In 1999-2000 he hosted a TV show intended to solve community conflicts as in a peace court.

TEODORO PETKOFF
Running for a third time.
Born in northwestern Zulia state in 1932, Teodoro Petkoff is the editor of newspaper Tal Cual. With a vast political career, including his participation in guerrillas in the 1960s, he is the co-founder of Movement for Socialism (MAS). He has run for president twice and was the minister of Coordination and Planning under President Rafael Caldera second term in office (1994-1999).

CECILIA SOSA GOMEZ
The only woman.
A former president of the Supreme Court of Justice, she was born in Caracas in 1943. He stepped in the political arena after she left the Venezuelan top court in 2000. She is a member of Comando Nacional de la Resistencia. She advocated enforcement of article 350, Venezuelan Constitution, which calls for peaceful civil disobedience, and she proposes electoral abstention in the event that the National Electoral Council (CNE) does not grant basic electoral conditions ahead of December 3rd presidential elections.

BENJAMIN RAUSSEO
A touch of humor.
Born in 1961 in a village called Musipán, eastern Monagas state. At 11, he dropped school to help support his family. He subsequently returned and completed in school in Caracas. The renowned comedian, known as "Er Conde del Guácharo" (The Earl of Guácharo), has a Bachelor's Degree in Drama and he is about to obtain a Bachelor's Degree in Law at the Santa María University. He is a successful businessman. His candidacy to the Venezuelan Presidency is his first incursion in politics.

ROBERTO SMITH
First-class Venezuela
Smith was born in Barquisimeto, northwestern Lara state, in 1958. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics. He obtained a Master's Degree in Public Policies from Harvard University. He was Communications minister in 1990-1992 and a co-founder of the Venezuelan National Telecommunications Commission.

He was ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourgh. He is the presidential candidate for his Venezuela de Primera (First-class Venezuela) political organization.

ENRIQUE TEJERA PARIS
International experience
Born in Caracas, Tejera París held public offices since the beginning of Rafael Medina Angarita's Government up to the moment when President Rómulo Gallegos was overthrown. Under Marcos Pérez Jiménez (1958), he held a position at the United Nations, where he chaired the mission that drafted the Report on Planning in Latin America. He was Venezuelan ambassador to the US and the OAS.

Under President Carlos Andrés Pérez' second term, Tejera París was Foreign Affairs minister.  He speaks five languages: Spanish, French, English, Portuguese and Italian. He is a member of the Political and Social Sciences Academy.

VICENTE BRITO
A businessman advocating private property.
Brito was born in Caripito, eastern Monagas state. He is a Chemical Engineer. In 1972 he promoted sorgum crops in eastern Venezuela.

In 1999-2000 he chaired the Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Industry and Trade (Fedecámaras). He occupied senior positions in Venezuelan Farmers' Federation (Fedeagro) and in Venezuelan Confederation of Industries (Conindustria).

In 1992, he ran for the Monagas State Governor's Office. In 1993, he was a candidate to the National Congress. He is currently engaged in agriculture, real estate and hotel businesses. He is the head of the Network for the Defense of Work, Property and Constitution.

Translated by Maryflor Suárez R.