Hugo Chávez promises to be a 'better president' for Venezuela "Today we start a new cycle of government," Mr Chávez said in a victory speech. We must respond with greater efficiency to the needs of our people. I promise you I'll be a better president. Mr Chávez, though, has also pledged to intensify socialism and is expected to nationalise even more sectors of the economy. During his last term, the state took control of telecoms, electricity and oil. "We would expect Venezuela's creditworthiness to erode further," said Boris Segura, a Latin America analyst at investment bank Nomura. Venezuela has the world's largest crude reserves, which has allowed Mr Chávez to pay for expensive programmes for the poor. His government says it has reduced poverty from 60 to 27 per cent. But oil prices have soared nearly by nearly $70 (£44) since 1998, the year before he took office, and critics accuse him of squandering those funds. "The country's not in the state it should be," Orangel Hernández, 45, said after voting for Chávez on Sunday. But Capriles would have been a return to elite rule. Mr Chávez, a persuasive orator who often speaks for hours without pause, had cast Mr Capriles in campaign speeches as a neoliberal who sought a return to the right-wing policies he so despises. Mr Capriles was deflated on Sunday night, but congratulated his rival and said he hoped he would work "to solve the problems of all Venezuelans." The US State Department congratulated the Venezuelan people for the high turnout, as a record 80 per cent of registered voters cast ballots. Mr Chávez has divided the Caribbean nation and alienated the middle class with his left-wing policies. He has been accused of authoritarianism for having concentrated power, removed term limits, and subordinated the legislature and judiciary. He is also expected to maintain close relationships with anti-US leaders, including Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Cuba's Fidel Castro. His supporters descended on central Caracas in the early hours of yesterday morning, filling plazas and firing off gunshots. They targeted the building of Venezuelan's electoral council, where the result was announced, with journalists and security fleeing in a panic. "Let Chávez reign forever," said one chavista from 23 de enero, a poor neighbourhood in the hills of the capital. Mr Chávez's cancer, however, remains a concern for his followers. He was diagnosed last year, but kept most details of his condition a secret and travelled to Cuba for treatment, taking him out of Venezuela for long periods.