| Venezuelan candidate's shirts a boon for business
In a home with bare brick walls and a zinc roof, a 58-year-old seamstress with short, curly hair is sewing shirts for a young politician who she thinks has a good shot at unseating Hugo Chavez as president of Venezuela. The shirts come in bright colors and are made of a light, wrinkle-resistant fabric. She says she's thankful that Capriles, along with his campaign staff and supporters, have brought in business. ". The surge of business has also helped Capriles win Rengifo's support, although Chavez's political base still lies within the very same segment of working class Venezuelans to which Rengifo belongs. Gonzalez's small business also recently obtained a loan from Capriles' state government to buy new machines and expand. Rengifo said she feels pride whenever she sees the candidate on television wearing one of her shirts. She's grateful, for instance, that Capriles' state government contributed sheets of zinc to help her add on to her home. Now, Capriles wears almost nothing but Rengifo's short-sleeved, collared shirts on the campaign trail as he tries to defeat Chavez in the country's Oct. "It's very good for things that are made in Venezuela to at least be sold, shown off," she said. Her neighborhood is one of the many poor communities across the country where Capriles is trying to make inroads. So far, Capriles has been trailing in the polls, though survey results have varied widely. One recent survey said Chavez led by about 4 percentage points. Rengifo said many of her neighbors feel they've been bypassed by the social programs offered elsewhere by Chavez's government. "I feel proud that a candidate, a (possible) president puts on a shirt I've made," Rengifo said, pressing her hands to her chest. In the big picture, she said, it's also healthy for an economy that relies largely on imports. Rengifo might have stayed out of the public eye had it not been for a chance occurrence: One of the shirts made by the business that she supplies was picked up by an aide to opposition presidential hopeful Henrique Capriles, and the candidate saw him wearing it. Capriles has been crisscrossing the country making door-to-door visits to try to win their support, in part by pledging to continue several of the aid programs Chavez began. And he has donned Rengifo's shirts, often wearing several in a day as he strides through towns in the sweltering heat. Capriles also has said he's proud to be supporting a local business with his clothing choices. "My shirts are made in Venezuela, with the talent that this country has more than enough of," Capriles said during one event. For his part, the 57-year-old Chavez has been attacking his 39-year-old rival by calling him a "rich kid" and accusing him of representing the interests of the wealthy. Rengifo said it was pure serendipity that she ended up sewing shirts for Capriles. Gonzalez said that he designed the casual shirt along with his son, and that sales have doubled in the past three months thanks to Capriles. Rengifo said many in her neighborhood don't identify strongly with either political camp. |
Monday, 4 June 2012
Venezuelan candidate's shirts a boon for business
