Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s support of leftist nationalist Ollanta Humala seems to have damaged his support.

Humala, the first round winner, is now trailing behind former President Alan Garcia. Most of this support for Garcia is from the third place and pro-business candidate Lourdes Flores. Her supporters favour Garcia as the lesser of two evils.

But comments from Hugo Chavez, who openly backs Humala, and led to a breakdown of relations between Peru and Venezuela, have caused a dip in his support. Some openly wonder if his closeness with Chavez could mean he could become a “soft-dictator” in much the same way as Chavez is seen. His previous attempts to overthrow the Government don’t really help.

With his popularity slipping, and his chances of winning fading, Humala has decided to speak out, and ask Chavez to avoid making any comments that could be percieved to support him, and to avoid hurling insults at his opponent, Garcia.

Tags: elections, garcia, hugo chavez, humala