VOA标准英语2013--Chavez Spirit Lives On in Venezuelan Election Campaign

 

Chavez Spirit Lives On in Venezuelan Election Campaign

An eternal flame marks the entrance of the National Pantheon, where the late President Hugo Chavez's body has been laid to rest. Every day, hundreds of his most loyal supporters, like Milagros Rodriguez, come to pay their last respects.

“Chavez is my heart and my life. I identify with him, and he will always be in all of us. We are Chavez and Chavez is everyone who has an awareness¹ of a free Venezuela and real socialism,” said Rodriguez.

While President Chavez is gone, his image is still everywhere in Caracas - from wall paintings to old campaign posters to a small memorial in a poor neighborhood of the city.

And in the presidential election, Chavez's memory and popularity are key components² of the campaign.

Former Vice³ President Nicolas Maduro regularly invokes⁴ the late president and once said Chavez’s spirit came to him as a tiny bird while he was on the campaign trail.

Campaign advertisements also show Chavez looking down on his chosen successor from heaven.

For many of the late president's supporters, this election is not about Maduro or his opponent Henrique Capriles or even about high inflation or rampant⁵ crime in the country.

As high school student Willmaira Flores says, it is about defending President Chavez's legacy⁶.

“Chavez wasn't just a person. He was a movement and the students understood that. We know what we've been through, what our parents have been through, and now we are here with all the benefits we must defend,” said Flores.

Political science professor Gabriel Reyes, at Andres Bello Catholic University, in Caracas, says it was a strategic decision early on by the Maduro Campaign to make the election about the spirit of Chavez.

“It is a message that has been planned, and they are trying to take the motive⁷ why they should vote for him out of the earthly context," he said. "Because if the reason were rational or earthly it would be really difficult for them to win.”

And so far it seems to be working. President Maduro holds a significant lead over Capriles in the polls leading into Sunday's election. 

1 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

2 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 invokes   

v.援引( invoke的第三人称单数 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• The Roundtable statement invokes the principles of the free market system. 企业界圆桌会议的声明援用了自由市场制度的原则。 来自辞典例句
• When no more storage is available, the system invokes a garbage collector. 当没有可用的存贮时，系统就调用无用单元收集程序。 来自辞典例句

5 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

6 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

7 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。