Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and opposition leader Henrique Capriles have officially kicked off their campaigns for the October presidential election

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and opposition leader Henrique Capriles have officially kicked off their campaigns for the October presidential election.

Chavez, who is seeking a third term, appeared at a rally in the central state of Carabobo on Sunday.

"From here, I say to the Venezuelan bourgeoisie which hates us so much and which has presented his own candidate: 'we are going to pulverize you on October 7th,'" Chavez said in an address to crowds of supporters in the town of Mariara in Carabobo state. 
Chavez's rival, Capriles, also visited border regions with the message that remote communities have been neglected.

"Venezuela, don't ever forget this, Venezuela is a blessed country. God gave it to all Venezuelans but what we are missing is a great government. That's what we are offering all Venezuelans: a great government, a compromise, our word," Capriles told a crowd of people in the city of Santa Elena de Uairen in the state of Bolivar.