It is about over in Yaracuy

Visiting sub-rector Lucena has announced that with 93% of ballots counted the trend was "irreversible" and that she expected Gimenez to be proclaimed the new governor.

This is very distressing to me as Gimenez has been a failure as a mayor and cannot possibly be a good governor. Unless of course you are on his side and he can find you a stipend to live off public monies. For Yaracuy people this is actually worse than seeing Diosdado Cabello ruling over Miranda. If there is a case of a Chavez-made governor, it is Gimenez. Without direct help from Chavez, Gimenez would have racked at best a 35%. It is also unfair for Lapi who is punished in spite of a reasonable administration recognized by all. But he could not compete with the monies spent through the misiones. Whether he liked them or not he did not have the means to compete with such programs as Yaracuy is a rather poor state with a low tax base. And Lapi had a considerable social conscience and built many social programs!

At least my mayor has been re-elected so I will have some protection from Gimenez excesses which are sure to come.

On other news. After much an anguishing moment Zulia's Rosales was finally proclaimed governor elect with 54 %. A victory good enough, bit maybe not good enough to give him the opposition leadership on a silver platter.

Carlos Ocariz recognized the victory of Rangel. The "vice" son barely managed to squeak back in. Ocariz and Primero Justicia are victims of abstention and division since two years ago that Caracas district was considered not in the reach of the opposition. But the prima donna attitude of Un Solo Pueblo leader William Ojeda when polls did not go his way, the influence of Caracas journalists pro-abstention have been enough to shave the 2-3 % points that doomed Ocariz. Now, Sucre is stuck with four more years of a totally inefficient mayor, not even liked by his base. But Chavez dixit and that was that. What is most amazing is that Ocariz managed to win some of the popular areas that supposedly are die-hard Chavez supporters, breaking the myth of monolithic popular support. AS I pointed out in late August, people and Caracas would prefer a job to a Mision Whatever, and Chavez is not delivering there, at all. But I am sure that fellow travelers and "sandalistas" will not notice this.... I will revisit this result when the CNE page is not too slow, right now it is killing my broadband.

Thus Primero Justicia fails to win its third town hall in Caracas. But chavismo is shaken nevertheless, and Primero Justicia is alone with chavismo in Caracas. No need anymore to seek the favor of mediocrities from AD, or people like Peña.