Manuitt defies PSUV ... PPT backs his daughter for Guárico governor

Caracas Daily Journal (Jeremy Morgan): The top echelon at the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) might well wish they'd never heard of Guarico state Governor Eduardo Manuitt. Far from being humbled at being spurned by the PSUV, he gets more awkward by the day. Stopped from running for re-election in Guarico, he's floated the idea of standing for governor of Apure state. He says he's mulling the idea after looking at opinion polls.

Whether Manuitt was teasing or testing the waters about standing for election in Apure was not clear, but he went on to add: "Up to now, it's not a fact, I'd say" because he hadn't talked with anybody yet and he "respected unity."

Manuitt's daughter, Lenny, has emerged as a potential contender in the race to succeed him in Guarico. That would pitch her against the PSUV's candidate, former information minister Willian Lara, who was parachuted in from party headquarters in Caracas to replace Manuitt. Lenny Manuitt would have to resign from the PSUV to take on Lara, in which case she would need a new political home.

Inevitably, eyes are cast towards Patria Para Todos (PPT), which was once closely allied to President Hugo Chavez' old Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) but is now in outright rebellion. This is though PPT and the PSUV are supposedly partners in the Patriotic Pole or Alliance. This loosely assembled coalition of President Hugo Chavez' loyalists now looks to be unraveling at a rate of knots. PPT and the PSUV have been spitting and snarling at each other for some time.

Observers are wondering when the divorce happens and just how messy it might be. PPT has nominated candidates for governor in Carabobo, Portuguesa and Sucre states. Now, PPT party Secretary-General Jose Albornoz has withdrawn as candidate for governor in Guarico to support Manuitt's daughter. Manuitt the father is also getting downright cheeky. On Tuesday, he was reported to have remarked that while Chavez had been elected by the people and merited respect for that he had to "rectify" or reconsider his attitude.