March 11, 2013

(JTA) — Henrique Capriles Radonski, the grandson of Holocaust survivors, said he will run again for Venezuela’s presidency in the election to succeed the late Hugo Chavez.

Capriles, who identifies as a Catholic, announced his candidacy on Sunday. He will run against Nicolas Maduro, Chavez’s chosen successor and the acting president, in the April 14 elections.

Last October, Capriles won 44 percent of the vote but lost to Chavez by 11 percentage points.

Over the weekend, he challenged the constitutionality of Maduro’s appointment as acting president following the death of Chavez on March 5.

During the 2012 presidential campaign, state-run media urged Venezuelans to reject “international Zionism” and vote against Capriles, describing him as having “a platform opposed to our national and independent interests.”

Chavez also said the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, was out to kill him and accused Israel of financing Venezuela’s opposition. Government media described Capriles as “Jewish-Zionist bourgeoisie.”

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