Government's sustained campaign of allegations against Governor Manuel Rosales of Zulia state continues

Caracas Daily Journal (Jeremy Morgan): The government's sustained campaign of allegations against Governor Manuel Rosales of Zulia state continued as National Assembly Deputy (AN) Mario Isea delivered a formal accusation claiming that the opposition leader was sending dollars to the United States. This was the third time in recent weeks that Isea had gone to the State Prosecutors Office. Afterwards, he said there was a recording of the governor speaking to a company about transferring $31 million to a bank account abroad, and he named several people as Rosales' supposed accomplices.

Rosales last week refused to answer a summons from the comptroller's committee at the Assembly, saying he did not wish to be "ambushed" in a "show" put on by government legislators. "If he had a clear conscience he would have complied with questioning at the comptroller's committee," Isea said. He went on to accuse Rosales of having links with a "national and international network" which was used to "move millions without control." Rosales had to explain where the money came from, he demanded.

While Rosales has been a major target for government attacks, he has by no means been the only one. Opposition candidates increasingly found themselves objects of both personalized and generalized verbal onslaughts as the campaign moved into the final stretch. Chávez closed the campaign in Caracas Tuesday night by urging his followers to dole out a drubbing to the opposition so that "they don't go on manipulating the people."

Mayor Leopoldo López of the Chacao municipality, said it seemed that Chavez disliked half the country.