BofA Sees Chavez Re-Election Even as Lead in Polls Narrows

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is on track to beat Henrique Capriles Radonski in the Oct. 7 election even as the incumbent’s lead shows signs of narrowing, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said, citing polls conducted by other companies.

Chavez’s lead over Capriles narrowed to 10 percentage points from 15 percentage points in the latest Datanalisis survey taken between Aug. 25 and Sept. 5, bank economist Francisco Rodriguez wrote in a report e-mailed to investors today. He would have won 56.3 percent of the vote and Capriles 43.7 percent had the election been held this month, Rodriguez said basing his estimates on seven surveys conducted in late August and early September by polling companies including Consultores 30.11 and Hinterlaces.