News Americas, CARACAS, Venezuela, Mon. Sept. 26, 2011: Venezuelan opposition candidate, Leopoldo Lopez, is gearing up to challenge President Hugo Chavez in the 2012 elections.
Lopez, 40, launched his campaign over the weekend, a week after the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ordered Venezuela to allow him to run. At the launch rally he said his main priorities would be to tackle violent crime and reduce unemployment and asked of Chavez: “Is it true what they are saying all over Venezuela, that you are afraid of me?”
Lopez had been banned from public office because of corruption allegations.
