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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 6 March 2018

Pragmatic candidate livens up Venezuela's presidential race

By J. GOODMAN position coalition has re- etary Fund, a boogeyman
S. SMITH fused to field a candidate. to most of Latin America’s
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Last week's registration left, and his most noted
— In another year, Henri deadline passed with just economic adviser, Wall
Falcon might be just anoth- Falcon and four relatively Street analyst Francisco
er middle-of-the-pack pres- obscure figures signing up Rodriguez, has called for
idential candidate in Vene- to challenge Maduro. adopting the dollar as the
zuela. He's far from the most Falcon, 56, lacks the flair of national currency as a
popular opposition leader. many Venezuelan political way to halt the hyperinfla-
He's a dull speechmaker. figures. Maduro, a former tion that has devastated
The parties that back him bus driver and frustrated the economy. The son of a
are small. He's managed to rock 'n' roller, mimics the school teacher and small-
irritate both the left and the impassioned, flamboyant time farmer father, Fal-
right. But a boycott of the speaking style of his men- con choked to the verge
race by Venezuela's big- tor, the late President Hugo of tears remembering his
gest parties means Falcon Chavez, who enthralled humble origins at an event
is by far the most prominent Venezuelans as he led the with investors in New York in
option on the May 20 bal- country on an oil boom- 2016. The lawyer with four
lot for those who want to fueled march toward his children often rises before
unseat socialist President version of socialism. Other dawn and laces up his run-
Nicolas Maduro — and more fiery opposition fig- ning shoes to hit the streets
polls indicate that is the ures like Henrique Capriles in his hometown of Barqui-
majority in a country with and Leopoldo Lopez have simeto, a farming hub and
spreading hunger and an galvanized huge anti-gov- Venezuela’s fourth largest
almost worthless currency. ernment street demonstra- city, where he served two
Some of the same polls tions. By contrast, Falcon terms as mayor. He was a
even have the former gov- comes across as a cere- In this 2013 photo, Lara Gov. Henry Falcon, left, and opposition non-commissioned officer
presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, greet supporters at
ernor as the front-runner, bral, competent manager the closing campaign rally in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. in 1992, but wasn’t part of
with a double-digit lead driven more by pragma- (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) the failed coup led that
over Maduro. The big ques- tism than ideology. year by the paratrooper
tion is whether that will Even while in the ruling so- ing pummeled by much of programs and subsidies officer Chavez, though he
matter. Most of Venezu- cialist movement, he kept the government. Now as started under Chavez. soon joined the Chavista
ela's opposition, joined by lines open to the business an opponent, he calls for He has urged seeking help political movement and
the U.S. and much of the community that was be- preserving generous social from the International Mon- rose through its ranks.q
international community, is
convinced it won't — that
ment long ago stacked ‘Carlos the Jackal’ back on trial over Paris attack
the fix is in. The govern-
the electoral council and
judiciary with its supporters PARIS (AP) — The Venezue- of the Palestinian cause, or missed for lack of evidence. Ramirez Sanchez was once
and has ignored the oppo- lan extremist known as Car- of communist revolution. Carlos, the only defendant the world's most-wanted
sition-dominated congress los the Jackal went back One of his lawyers, Isabelle in the original trial, was fugitive, before intelligence
that was chosen in 2015 in on trial Monday for a dead- Coutant-Peyre, said Carlos found guilty of throwing the agents captured him in Su-
the country's last relatively ly 1974 grenade attack on hadn't been able to see grenade. dan in 1994 and smuggled
contested vote. The op- a Paris shopping arcade. the case dossier for the ap- Lawyer Francis Vuillemin him to France in a sack.
position's most combative A Paris court convicted peals trial, and might ask said the defense team will In one of his most dramatic
leaders are banned from Carlos, whose real name is for a delay in Monday's plead for acquittal. operations, he led a com-
participating, imprisoned Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, last opening proceedings. "It's a very tough fight but mando that attacked a
or in exile. The presiden- year and handed him a life Carlos, now 68, has long the hardest battles are meeting of the Organi-
tial election, normally held sentence. He appealed — denied involvement in the sometimes the most beau- zation of the Petroleum
late in the year, has been even though he's already attack on the Drugstore tiful," he said. "Ilich Ramirez Exporting Countries in Vi-
moved forward to the serving two life sentences Publicis shopping center in Sanchez is still his old self, in enna, Austria, in late 1975.
spring, leaving Maduro's for murders and attacks he the French capital's Latin great shape, despite being He took more than 60 hos-
squabbling opponents little was convicted of perpe- Quarter, which killed two 68 years old. He is going to tages, including 11 OPEC
time to prepare. trating or organizing in the people and injured 34. fight like he always does, at ministers, and three people
In response, the main op- 1970s and 1980s on behalf The case was initially dis- each trial." were killed.q