Chavez Says He Will Speed Socialism After November Election

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he will ``accelerate the socialist revolution'' after his party's candidates win regional elections Nov. 23. Some of his ideas, which he calls ``21st century socialism,'' were rejected in a referendum last December. That was because conditions weren't yet ``ripe,'' as they will be later this year, Chavez said late yesterday in a televised address. ``Nov. 23 will kick off the new period of the Bolivarian revolution,'' Chavez said at the campaign event for his United Socialist Party of Venezuela. ``Transition to socialism in a much more precise, planned, accelerated, exact, scientific manner.''