Venezuela's Chavez attacks opposition rival

By Patricia Rondon Espin

CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez is stepping up attacks on Venezuela's top opposition politician before tough regional elections this month when government allies could lose some posts.

Chavez last month vowed to jail Manuel Rosales, who lost in the 2006 presidential election but remains governor of Zulia, Venezuela's most populous state and major oil hub. Chavez's administration has threatened to block Rosales running for another office and hurled accusations against him.

Rosales and political analysts say the leftist is using the familiar tactic of firing up supporters against a common enemy before a tight vote.

Pollsters predict the opposition could win a third of the country's governorships on November 23.

Rosales also says Chavez wants to clamp down on the opposition as he weighs another drive to change the constitution to let him stay in office as long as he keeps winning elections -- something voters in the OPEC nation rejected last year.

"This is the start of the democratic removal of Chavez from power ... that's why he's using every possible trick and disproportionate use of state power to win these elections," Rosales told Reuters.

He says Chavez wants to create a Communist state like his mentor ex-Cuban leader Fidel Castro and attacks rivals to distract from serious issues like crime.

In recent weeks, Venezuelan state television has started running repeated attack ads against Rosales. Congress and the comptroller have opened investigations against him and the Justice Minister has said he has violated human rights.