Today in Americas

Virgin of El Cobre draws Cubans of all descriptions - Obama, back in U.S., stresses Afghan role - No end in sight for Colombia fighting - But a number of pro-Chavez parties declined to join it, preferring to maintain their autonomy, and now they complain of being sidelined. "They only ask us about their candidates who we are willing to support. That's an attempt at subordination, " said Oscar Figuera, secretary general of the Communist Party. Building consensus for a single pro-Chavez candidate in every state has been impossible despite months of negotiations with the ruling party, prompting smaller parties to fend for themselves, said Andrea Tavares of Fatherland For All. "We don't see an inclination toward unity within the ruling party, and we've said that sacrifices must be equal, that all revolutionaries must make sacrifices," Tavares said. Venezuela's opposition is hoping to hand Chavez his second straight electoral defeat after voters said no last year to constitutional reforms that would have let the socialist leader run for re-election indefinitely. Luis Vicente Leon of the Venezuelan polling firm Datanalisis said the infighting "could complicate the situation for Chavez," but he noted that the opposition is also struggling to unite behind single candidates.