Venezuelan candidates trade barbs

SLURS

Capriles, a descendant of Polish Jews on his mother's side, was a victim of racist and homophobic slurs from Chavez supporters last year. Maduro appeared to allude to his rival's sexuality during Monday's rally.

"I do have a wife, you know? I do like women!" he told the crowd with his wife Cilia Flores at his side, who has served as attorney general but is stepping down to join her husband's campaign.

Venezuela's opposition leader and presidential candidate Henrique Capriles shows the Venezuelan constitution during a news conference in Caracas March 11, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Though single, Capriles has had various high-profile girlfriends in the past. He scoffs at the personal insults, saying they illustrate the government's aggressive mindset.

"I want to send a message of ... rejection about Nicolas' homophobic declarations," Capriles said. "It is not the first time. His is a message of exclusion."

Shaken by Chavez's death and now immersed in an election campaign, Venezuelans saw some semblance of normality return on Monday as most schools and shops reopened after being closed for most of last week.

Chavez's many local detractors are keeping a low profile.

But they say his memory is being burnished to forget less savory parts of his rule like the bullying of opponents and stifling of private businesses with nationalizations.

The official mourning period for Chavez ends on Tuesday. However, the government extended a temporary ban on alcohol and carrying firearms through March 16.

Several million have paid their respects at his coffin at a military academy in a dramatic outpouring of grief.

Though criticized by many for his authoritarian tendencies and handling of the economy, Chavez was loved by millions, especially the poor, because of his own humble background, plain language and attacks on global "imperialists" and the domestic "elite," as well as his welfare policies in Venezuela's slums.

In death, he is earning a near-religious status among supporters, perhaps akin to that of Argentina's former populist ruler Juan Peron and his deeply loved wife Eva Peron.

State television has been playing speeches and appearances by Chavez over and over, next to a banner saying "Chavez lives forever".