The sun may be setting on Fidel Castro's project in Cuba, but further to the south it's high noon for socialism. The helm of Latin American socialism today belongs to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and he has the money, the savvy and a new six-year mandate to steer it where he will.

Chavez won a landslide re-election Sunday, securing another six years in the country's top office. With almost 80 percent of the vote counted by Monday, the incumbent appears to have taken 61 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results. International observers have declared the vote fair, and opposition candidate Manuel Rosales isn't contesting the outcome: "We recognize that today they defeated us," he said.

His victory, though anticipated, is not welcome in Washington. Chavez, who sees his vision as directly competing with Washington's influence in the region, habitually derides US President George W. Bush in his speeches. "It's another defeat for the devil, who tries to dominate the world," Chavez said Sunday.

Washington worries about the leader's capacity to spread his vision. Venezuela is the world's fifth largest oil producer, and Chavez has used the vast revenues to bankroll other socialist movements in the region, like that of Bolivian President Evo Morales, Daniel Ortega's in Nicaragua and Rafael Correa's in Ecuador.