rich campaign which had a clear message and a single leader," Luis Vicente Leon of local pollsters Datanalisis said. "Chavez could win. But so could the opposition," he added. Opponents have accused the president of trying to win votes by using millions of dollars of state oil revenues to bankroll popular government social programs offering free health and education services to the poor. They urge Venezuela's 14 million voters to recall a leader they say is bent on turning the oil-rich nation into another communist-ruled Cuba. "This isn't just a fight between democratic society and a bad government ... we really see our freedom and democracy at risk," opposition spokesman Humberto Calderon Berti said. Some analysts worry a defeat for former paratrooper, Chavez, who led a failed coup six years before winning 1998 elections, could trigger a violent backlash from supporters who have often taken to the streets to defend their beloved "comandante". "If Chavez loses, a lot of people are going to be very, very upset and they are the ones most likely to be throwing bricks through windows," one foreign diplomat said. But Chavez said Thursday that if he lost the referendum in a fair vote, he would hand over the presidency. Teams of international observers are due to monitor Sunday's poll.
