Chávez's Most Helpful Campaign Aide: China

Edelmina Flores thanks God and Hugo Chávez for her apartment in a new housing complex in the Venezuelan president’s home state of Barinas. She might also want to thank the Chinese government. Since 2007, the China Development Bank has lent Venezuela $42.5 billion, backed by revenue from Venezuelan crude. That sum accounts for nearly a quarter of the bank’s overseas loans. At least $12 billion was promised in the past 15 months, when stagnant oil output and higher borrowing costs among major emerging markets made raising capital more expensive.

The money has provided a crucial boost for Chávez, who despite a battle with cancer is running for a third term. Most polls show Chávez leading Henrique Capriles Radonski, the opposition coalition candidate, on the eve of the Oct. 7 ballot, but not dominating as in 2006, when he won 63 percent of the vote. To woo constituents, the Chávez government has finished more than 250,000 houses since last year. In the past 12 months, government spending has risen 30 percent, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, fueling growth of 5.4 percent in the second quarter.