Caracas Chronicles

10:16 PM: Live blogging Capriles’ speech. Adopting a somber tone, he saves the best bit for the post-speech press interview: “already there have been two defeated vice-presidents [Diosdado and Jaua], we’ll see who the next candidate is.”

Mentions Falcón, Guarulla, and Velásquez. Says that in spite of that, he is not happy. Tells  the truth: we held the fort in Miranda.

Talks about the shoddy work inaugurating public works that weren’t working a few days later. Criticizes the excessive government propaganda. Says chavistas were trying to blackmail people. Throws some love at some of the losers today, calls them leaders. Smart – he’s gonna need them in the future.

Venezuelans: the struggle continues. The fight continues. We must fight back against the abuse of power. Combative. Talks about Chávez’s cancer, says chavistas are using cancer for electoral purposes. Calls him “our President” … PLOP.

Says the federal government is responsible for crime. Talking about “struggle” a lot. Talks about communities he’s visited. Says the government doesn’t provide answers. Speech focusing on graft right now.

Says he’s happy for Miranda, not for Venezuela. Says the moment of change for Venezuela is close. Asks for Venezuelans to keep the faith. Says Venezuelans are looking for people who do a good job, for a government that speaks for all. Says that a new government is coming. Says people sometimes win on their second or third try. Practically announcing his candidacy now!

Says change is really close, it’s in the air. Venezuelans want answers to their problems. No mentioning Maduro yet – he really should define him.

Bottom line: combative, but he really should have focused on Maduro a bit more. Mixed bag for me.