Opposition holds big rally in Venezuelan capital

'VALUE OF LOYALTY'

The race took a somewhat surreal turn on Saturday when Maduro said a centuries-old curse would fall on the heads of those who do not vote for him.

Maduro, 50, was a bus driver and union leader who rose to become Chavez's foreign minister, then vice president.

Venezuela's opposition leader and presidential candidate Henrique Capriles (C) runs down the stage during a campaign rally in Caracas April 7, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

At his rallies, he frequently refers to Chavez in adoring terms and plays a video from December where the former president endorsed Maduro as his successor.

"He taught us the supreme value of loyalty. With loyalty, everything is possible. Betrayal only brings defeats and curses," Maduro told cheering supporters on Sunday.

Maduro again accused the opposition of hatching a plot to assassinate him.

He has also accused the US government of planning to kill Capriles and blame it on his government in order to spark unrest before the election. Washington denied it.

Capriles has ridiculed Maduro's claims and likened them to Chavez's frequent denunciations of "imperialist" assassination plots during his 14-year rule.

The opposition says the assassination claims are designed to distract voters from daily problems such as violent crime, high prices and creaking public services.

Capriles, who is predicting a late pro-opposition surge as sympathy wears off after Chavez's death, is vowing to install a Brazilian-style administration of free-market economics with strong social welfare policies.

Capriles mocks Maduro as a bad copy of Chavez, and says his decisions as acting president caused a currency devaluation and price spikes that have been disastrous for Venezuelans.

Gisela Quijada, a 68-year-old nurse attending the opposition rally in Caracas, said the country was broken.

"I like Capriles ... the other one is immature. He just wants to be a copy of Chavez," she said.  

"Chavez was a leader for them. I can't deny it. But he (Maduro) has nothing in his head. If Capriles doesn't win, we'll keep on fighting for him. But we're sure he's going to win!"

The election will decide the future of "Chavismo" socialism and control of the world's biggest oil reserves and economic aid to left-leaning nations across Latin America and the Caribbean.