CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuelan shoppers are snapping up talking dolls of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that have become a wildly popular gift among everyone from army generals to opposition leaders.

The main kiosk stocking the dolls in a Caracas shopping mall sold out of the "Chavecito" on Friday. The doll has a red beret and at the pull of a cord repeats a revolutionary slogan: "It's your dream, it's your hope, and it's your job to be free and equal."

Douglas Bustamante, who sells the 18-inch (46-centimetre) action figures, said shoppers have bought 600 from him since the dolls hit the shelves six weeks ago - at a price of about US$28 (euro24).
"The demand is incredible," said Bustamante, 27. "People of all kinds, Chavez supporters and opponents, have bought them. I sold 12 to an official from the US Embassy the other day."

Chavez, a former army officer who is up for re-election in 2006, has drawn loyal supporters and bitter enemies through his close ties to Cuba's Fidel Castro and his sharp criticism of the US government and Venezuela's wealthy "oligarchy".

Since he was elected in 1998 on promises of helping the poor, Chavez's influence over Venezuelan politics has grown.
He also has the gift of gab, and his weekend television radio show frequently lasts up to seven hours.

The doll, which is made in China, repeats in Spanish: "I arrived here to do all humanly possible to help all the Venezuelan people."
Venezuela's self-styled "revolutionary" isn't the only Latin American leader whose image is being hawked as a Christmas gift.

Stores in the Venezuelan capital carry likenesses of political celebrities past and present: Argentine-born revolutionary Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, Cuba's Castro, former Venezuelan dictator Marcos Perez Jimenez and former President Carlos Andres Perez.

"Of all the people represented here, Chavez sells the most, people buy Chavez statuettes, sometimes as a joke, to get a rise out of friends who hate him," said Elizabeth Morais, a 32-year-old store clerk who opposes the president.

Henry Falcon, a retired teacher who strongly supports Chavez, laughed aloud when he saw puppets of the Venezuelan leader and former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein hanging in the store window.
"It looks like there's something for everyone here," Falcon said, smiling.

Chavez, an outspoken critic of US-style capitalism, has urged Venezuelans to make their own toys rather than spending money on imported Superman action figures or Barbie dolls. He has instead proposed toys in the image of national founding fathers such as 19th-century independence hero Simon Bolivar.

The Venezuelan leader hasn't publicly mentioned the "Chavecito", though he noted in one recent speech: "The winds of Christmas are blowing."

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