Venezuelans: Will Chavez's challenger pose threat?

CARACAS, Venezuela — With Venezuela's first-ever opposition primary set to begin, allies and adversaries of President Hugo Chavez are focused on one burning question: Will the winner have what is takes to defeat a shrewd and charismatic leader who thrives during election campaigns?

Opposition supporters seem less interested in the proposals put forth by candidates competing in Sunday's vote than their chances of defeating Chavez in October's looming presidential election.

The outcome of Sunday's vote will set the stage for what many are billing as the most anticipated presidential vote since Chavez's first triumph in 1998, and Venezuelans on both sides of the nation's political gap are eager to see who will emerge as the challenger.

"This could be the closest election in many years, it's the first time Chavez could lose," said Alfredo Hernandez, a burly 57-year-old auto mechanic drinking a cold beer at the entrance to a garage in Catia, part of gritty downtown Caracas. "That's why we are all so excited."

Hernandez said he plans to vote for the opposition front-runner, Miranda state Gov. Henrique Capriles.

For government foes, the primary results are vital to their efforts to unseat Chavez — an event many have been desperately yearning for more than a decade, and appears to be a daunting task.

"I don't care who wins," snapped Gloria Muchacho, a 45-year-old housewife who hates when Chavez interrupts her soap operas with hours-long televised speeches that all channels are required to broadcast. "I just want them to get him out, he must go."

Chavez, however, has proved himself a tireless campaigner as he easily sailed to election victories in 1998, 2000 and 2006. As the election season heats up, Chavez has said he's itching for a fight.

During public events and marathon televised addresses, Chavez insists it doesn't matter who emerges as the opposition's candidate because he's confident none of his rivals are capable of beating him. He repeatedly taunts would-be challengers, portraying them as agents of Venezuela's wealthy elite and Washington.

"These candidates are the empire's candidates," Chavez told thousands of supporters at a rally this month in Catia, which is a government stronghold. "We are going to give the unpatriotic bourgeoisie a beating."

Many in Catia have benefited from Chavez's social programs, which the government says are improving living conditions for the country's poor majority.