CHAVEZ

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters):

President Hugo Chavez painted Venezuela the "red, really red" of his anti-United States socialist revolution, sweep-ing to re-election in Sunday's vote with wins in every state in the OPEC heavyweight.

National opposition newspaper El Universal displayed a map on its front page yesterday depicting his political movement's colour red as a wave across all of the Caribbean nation.

Polling above 60 per cent of the vote and 20 points more than his united opposition rival, Chavez said his win was a blow to United States President George W. Bush, who sees the Cuba and Iran ally as a threat to regional democracy and stability.

Strong mandate

Chavez, 52, and in office since 1998, now has a strong mandate to press his socialist reforms, including land confiscations and increased state control over the oil industry, and to seek to forge an anti-U.S. front in Latin America.

Smooth voting and a quick concession by the opposition defied many Venezuelans' fears of post-vote chaos over a contested election and helps provide a stable political backdrop for investments in a booming economy.

But politics are unlikely to be tame. Chavez acknowledges he thrives on confrontation and he is still loathed among many in the middle and upper classes who consider him a buffoon and dictator-in-the-making.

Chavez, the fourth Latin American leftist to win a presidential election in the last five weeks, has vowed to use his mandate to scrap presidential term limits and create a single party out of the array of groups that support him - which he would hope would be in power for decades.

Critics' fears

Critics, including Wash-ington, fear the man known as El Comandante will be emboldened to intensify his buying of arms and influence with an oil bonanza from high prices in one of the world's top crude exporters.

Opposition daily El Nacional spread a photograph over its front page of the barrel-chested former paratrooper in his signature open-neck red shirt raising his right fist in the air in a victory salute.

"It is another defeat for the empire of Mr. Danger," said the outspoken Chavez, using one of his many insults for Bush that include donkey, drunkard - and worse.