CARACAS - No event on the sporting calendar gets Venezuelans more animated than the rivalry between the country's two largest baseball teams, the Lions of Caracas and the Navigators of Magallanes, based in Valencia. But this season's championship series had an extra - and unexpected - ingredient thrown into the mix: politics. During the seven-game play-off, fans displayed banners bearing the slogan: "One, two, three. Electricity, water, crime. President - you've struck out!"

Hugo ChÁvez, a huge Magallanes fan, wasn't at the games but he was certainly watching.
"How do they think they're going to strike out ChÁvez? They're the ones who have struck out," he said, visibly riled, on television on Thursday. Referring to his electoral victories, he declared, "I've struck them out 11 times and I'll strike them out again." The opposition can claim only one poll victory - a referendum in December 2007 - against ChÁvez since he took office in February 1999. (See Hugo Ch[a {a}]vez's grip on Venezuela's presidency.)

But ChÁvez is indeed under pressure from a growing list of domestic problems, especially the three brought up by the protest banner: power and water shortages and a rise in crime. He blames water and electricity shortages on a drought caused by El NiÑo. A report released at Christmas by one of the state electricity companies predicted a national collapse within 120 days if drastic measures were not taken. Venezuela is experiencing a crime wave, recording 14,467 murders and 518 kidnappings last year, a rise of over 40% from 2008. (See Venezuela's plague of kidnappings.)

To alleviate drought, ChÁvez has turned to Cuba for "cloud-seeding" technology. He has also instituted unpopular water and electricity rationing to ensure the country's hydroelectric dams are not drained before the rains come in June. State employees are being sent home at lunchtime and factories forced to cut hours back by 20%. He had to sack his recently appointed Electricity Minister after a chaotic first day of rationing in Caracas. As a result, the President's popularity has fallen sharply from 62% last February to the mid-40s now.