Venezuela's Capriles targets toppling Chavez

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Yet with Chavez riding high in polls, still popular among the poor and spending massively on welfare projects, Capriles will need to go beyond the vague promises and feel-good factor of his primary campaign if he is to unseat the president.

His strong showing, winning 62 percent of the primary vote, will likely please investors, who react well to any news suggesting a change from Chavez's state-centred economic model.

"This result is still market positive as the opposition showed mobilization capacity and empowered the candidate," wrote Goldman Sachs analyst Alberto Ramos.

Venezuelan bonds, among the most highly traded emerging market securities, rose following Chavez's cancer diagnosis last year but slipped again as the former soldier staged what appeared to be quick recovery.

NEW FACE

Part of a new guard of young opposition leaders, Capriles has cast himself as a fresh face in a country dominated by Chavez's militant leftism and constant confrontation.

The grandson of Polish fugitives from Nazi persecution, Capriles says he admires Brazil's "modern left" economic model, which has helped pull tens of millions out of poverty through a mix of state spending and respect for private enterprise.

"The government loves talking about revolution. Why don't we take off the 'r' and talk about evolution?" he said on Monday, in one of many catch-phrases that served him well during the opposition primary campaign.

"I am not a Messiah, I'm a public servant," he added, seeking to make a contrast with Chavez's all-dominant persona.