VENEZUELA: Social Networks Working Full Blast Before Election.

M.HERALD/ JIM WYSS/    Venezuelans vote tomorrow on 165 parliament seats. Pollsters say Hugo Chávez's PSUV and his opposition are just a few points from each other. But judging from TWITTER followers, Chavez should have an easy victory.

    Chávez (chavezcandanga) has more than 847,600 followers, making him the 289th most-popular Twitter user globally -- and the second most-followed leader in the world after Barack Obama.
   ComScore research reveals that Venezuela is behind only Indonesia and Brasil in Twitter use and that 19% of Venezuela's internet users also have Twitter accounts while the U.S.in 11th place with 12% usage.

VENEZUELA: Has Chavez Fixed The System To Control The Vote?

M.HERALD/ BY JIM WYSS /
     Opposition critics maintain that President Hugo Chavez and his party have bent rules and ignored the constitution to game  Sunday's parliamentary election... with new voting districts and electoral laws that make it virtually impossible for him to lose the majority.
``The constitution calls for proportional representation, and this system no longer provides that,'' said Luis Enrique Lander, the director of Ojo Electoral, one of four national groups monitoring the race. ``Now it's a quasi-majority system. The winners won't take everything, but they will take almost everything.''

COLOMBIA/VENEZUELA: Working To Resume Trade After 70% Drop-Off.

M.HERALD/ BY JIM WYSS/
     A 2-year trade squabble has punished both nations, historically top trading partners after the U.S....with trade down 70%. After Colombia's new president Juan Santos took office on 7 August, Hugo Chavez and Santos met to restore ties. But Venezuela still owes about 250 Colombian exporters $786 million usd.
     "Venezuela is always our preferred partner," said lobbyist Javier Diaz,. ``But right now, with the debts it has and the economic situation in Venezuela, it's not exactly the most attractive market." "Venezuela has become a bad credit risk, just like it has become a bad oil producer and a bad neighbor,"said another trade expert. ``We have to hope all of that changes.''