Hugo Chavez faces toughest political test ... against his ex-wife

They used to be lovers, but now they are bitter political rivals. As Hugo Chavez prepares for regional elections next Sunday which will prove the biggest test yet for the Venezuelan President, he faces opposition from an unexpected corner - his former wife.

Marisabel Rodriguez, 43, is to stand for mayor in Barquisimeto, Venezuela’s fourth largest city, about 270 km of Caracas. She is supported by a left-wing independent party Podemos (We can). She has proved both a political irritant and a social embarrassment for Mr Chavez, who faces falling popularity as he enters elections for 22 governors, 328 mayors and 233 regional deputies.

Since their divorce in 2002 and very public battle over the custody of their daughter, Rosines, the couple have kept Venezuelans entertained by their sparring. But as Ms Rodriguez stands as mayor in a country which is beginning to turn against Mr Chavez, she might also prove his undoing in the political arena. “From the Chavez of today you should know the (Chavez) of before. He doesn’t have much in common with that of 1997,” she says. “If he is not a dictator, at least he seems it.”

Most Venezuelans equally adore and loath Ms Rodriguez. She met Mr Chavez in 1996 and they married the next year when their daughter was just two months. They separated in 2002. She married her tennis coach months after divorcing the Venezuelan President in 2007. They have not spoken since but their marital sparring has been played out very publicly.

In May, when Mr Chavez launched a bid through the courts to gain greater access to Rosines, her mother accused her father of abusing his power by meddling in the legal system. Mr Chavez countered, telling his ex-wife through his television programme ‘Alo Presidente’, : “Because of this soap opera that you are carrying on, I am going to stop this media show and end the (legal bid)."

Ms Rodriguez, a journalist, was allegedly the target of death threats this year when Mr Chavez supporters claimed members of the opposition planned to kill her in an effort to destabilize the Venezuelan regime. The claims were denied by opposition politicians Luis Tascon and Ismael Garcia.

In an interview with the Spanish daily El Mundo, Ms Rodriguez claims Mr Chavez, a former paratroop colonel, only married her for political ends to improve his image. “A blonde with blue eyes who could go to all the political functions on his arm. It was a complement to his roughness,” she said. "Whenever I hear him talking publicly about our girl in public, I want to say the same to him as the King of Spain: 'Why don't you shut up'."

Ms Rodriguez is standing against the Government’s Socialist candidate and the main official opposition party, composed of a variety of different groups. The result of the elections will prove a test of Mr Chavez’s popularity which is slipping according to recent polls. In one poll, 82 per cent said they did not agree with Mr Chavez’ policies on security and crime. Sixty per cent were against cutting ties with the U.S. and 84 per cent said they opposed Fidel Castro – who Chavez jokingly referred to as ‘Our father who is Havana’. “Every place that he loses, will be a symbolic defeat,” said Luis Vicente, an analyst for pollsters Datanalisis.

As an indication of how seriously he is taking the regional elections, Mr Chavez is putting out at least three television or radio broadcasts a day, interrupting popular soap operas and other programming. “This is a new phenomenon: the preacher president,” said Antonio Pascali, a media expert. “He is the president who has spoken most through the media in the world. Since 1998, he has accumulated 7,000 hours, the equivalent of 291 working days.”