Hugo Chavez (left) will face Henrique Capriles (right) in the October presidential election. 

The Colombian newsmagazine Semana recently published a cover story entitled "Chavez's challenger" saying that the defeat of Hugo Chavez in the upcoming presidential election is likely. 

In a lenghty article about opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski, the magazine stated that the confidence of Venezuela's opposition "has skyrocketed, and national and international analysts agree that President Hugo Chávez can be turned out of office through elections." The notion of a Chavez defeat, "which was deemed unthinkable until some time ago, is not at all absurd," the article added.

The article went on to say that "nobody foresaw the significance of Capriles' victory" in the recent primary elections.

The magazine noted that "Capriles was the least anti-Chávez candidate. From the ideological point of view, his profile has been apparently based on his political convenience," the weekly magazine noted.

Chavez himself has shown what could be considered anxiety about his new opponent, having unleashed a number of bromides against Capriles, while State-controlled websites have published anti-Semitic screeds attacking his Jewish ancestry, even though Capriles is a practicing Catholic. 

Chavez is expected to spend millions of dollars of state money between now and the October 7th election to sway votes - an advantage that even a united opposition can't come close to. But as his illness affects his ability to govern, and crime and a crumbling economy continue to erode his popularity, the election could cut short his stated plans to remain in office for decades.