The Associated Press
Washington Post
June 14, 2008
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's estranged ex-wife will seek the mayorship of her hometown in November regional elections.
Opposition party Podemos says it will officially support Marisabel Rodriguez's candidacy for the top municipal post in Barquisimeto in western Lara state.
The 43-year-old Rodriguez has been an outspoken critic of the president since their 2004 divorce.
She told reporters Saturday that under Chavez, democracy in Venezuela has been replaced with "nepotism, inefficiency and intolerance."
Chavez sued her in May in a case involving their 10-year-old daughter. But he withdrew the suit after Rodriguez publicly denounced it.
