(AFP) — After nine months in a flood victims’ shelter, Daviana Padron now lives in a free apartment, works in a cooperative bakery and her kids attend a new school in the Venezuelan city of Caribia.
The coastal town outside Caracas is a model of what President Hugo Chavez refers to as his Bolivarian socialist revolution. And he plans to eventually turn the socialist-minded project into home to more than 100,000 people.
It also is an example of how Chavez hopes passionate grassroots support from low-and-middle-income Venezuelans will propel him to a third term as president in the upcoming October 7 vote.
He faces a tough election against Henrique Capriles, a 39-year-old lawyer who is popular among Venezuela’s moderate and conservative voters.
Chavez says Capriles appeals to business interests while the ailing president draws supporters from more rural and economically disadvantaged.
Padron is one thousands of Venezuelans who credits her new lifestyle to Chavez’s policies after heavy rains in 2010 washed out thousands of homes, leaving her and about 130,000 other people as victims.
“My life has changed too,” Padron, 41, said. “I was a very aggressive person and I did not like being approached. Since I’ve been here, I share, I work, I talk to people and they listen to me.”
Bread at the bakery where she works costs half as much as in the rest of Venezuela.
The packaging on locally made drinks reads: “Made with socialism.”
Since August, about 5,000 people have moved into apartments in Caribia with up to four bedrooms each. For now, their rent is free but the government plans to establish payment plans for them based on their income.