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As if to prove that point, Maria Eugenia Enriquez, wearing a red shirt stamped with the piercing gaze of the late Chavez, said she never misses the festivities. "I'm a revolutionary but I like to watch the show with my entire family," said Enriquez. "Miss Venezuela is as much ours as the arepa," she said, referring to the corn cake that's an emblematic part of the country's diet. Last night's show was expected to draw more than two-thirds of the television audience, according to Venevision, the network responsible for organizing and broadcasting the pageant. While the self-styled 21st century socialist revolution implemented a decade ago by Chavez drove a wedge in Venezuelan society, the scale of political vitriol has intensified since the charismatic leader's death in March and the narrow victory by his hand-picked successor, Nicolas Maduro, over opposition leader Henrique Capriles, who has accused Maduro of stealing the vote. In turn, Maduro has slammed his critics as "lackeys" of the U.S. empire conspiring to destabilize the government. The country's problems weren't visible under the bright lights last night, politics did nudge their way into the question and answer period, when the candidate for Caracas, Andrea Lira, said that more than chasing an ideal of beauty, she dreams of one day transforming her divided nation. "I want my country to be a country that isn't complacent and that continues to struggle in the face of adversity so that we can come together in spite of our differences," she said in remarks that elicited extended applause from the audience.
[Associated
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