High expectations for Chávez after big victory

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chávez's re-election means he may now pursue an ambitious agenda of populism and power politics — nationalizing the nation's top telecommunications company, expanding free health care and discarding presidential term limits.

His promises to eradicate poverty have raised high expectations, and his core constituency is apt to pressure him to deliver on them, analysts say. One in three Venezuelans live on less than $3 a day.

Sunday's victory over challenger Manuel Rosales was an electoral triumph for Chávez, swept into office eight years ago by voters angry with a political elite they considered corrupt and out of touch.

Foes view Chávez as power-hungry, but a majority of Venezuelans evidently believe his socialist revolution and what he calls its "missions," or oil-financed social programs, hold the promise of a better future.

"His re-election tells us he retains a rapport and bond with many Venezuelans, that even those who haven't directly benefited from the 'missions' have hopes of doing so in the future," said Michael Shifter, an analyst at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington. "That Chávez controls key institutions in Venezuela and has benefited from an oil bonanza in recent years also helps a lot."

Chávez has channeled Venezuela's oil profits into multibillion-dollar programs that provide the poor with subsidized food, free university educations and cash benefits for single mothers.

Bolivian President Evo Morales congratulated Chávez, an ideological ally, for his victory. The Venezuelan ballot was only the latest in a string of elections won by leftist presidential candidates in Brazil, Ecuador and Nicaragua.

Chávez celebrated his victory by taunting the U.S., calling his re-election "another defeat for the devil, who tries to dominate the world."

But Sean McCormack, a State Department spokesman, sounded conciliatory Monday. "From our standpoint, there don't have to be any frictions."

The former army paratrooper, who has compared politics to war, has repeatedly used conflict to strengthen his hand.

After Chávez led a February 1992 coup against the government, he languished in military prison for two years before being pardoned and embarking on his bid for the presidency.

After his election in 1998, he faced down a crippling opposition-led strike and seized control of the state oil company — using its revenues to pay for his social programs.

In 2002, he survived a failed coup attempt. Two years later, he survived a recall election demanded by his foes.