Teodoro Petkoff

"Teodoro Petkoff, editor of the Venezuela newspaper Tal Cual." 

"Petkoff, 74, is the most high-profile opposition leader to have consistently challenged Chavez from the left. ... But Petkoff also has skewered the opposition for its belligerent tactics since Chavez took office, often when few others would, giving him a reputation as a thoughtful maverick, a rarity in a highly polarized country. His backing of the opposition's current presidential candidate, Manuel Rosales, in this December's election has added needed credibility to the anti-Chavez camp, several analysts say. ...

"His support was decisive" in the opposition decision to choose Rosales, former governor of the oil-rich state of Zulia, as its candidate, says Fausto Maso, a leading Venezuelan political analyst. Petkoff now is a key Rosales campaign adviser.

"Additionally, while Chavez regularly tries to brand his critics as Yankee stooges, Petkoff "cannot justly be accused of toeing Washington's line," says Michael Shifter, vice president for policy for the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think thank."