CARACAS, Venezuela – The barrio of Petare, one of the biggest slums in Latin America, has traditionally been a stronghold for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

But an opposition mayor was sworn in here Thursday, showing the socialist leader has lost some of his influence in this electoral battleground among his bedrock supporters — the poor. Many residents who voted against Chavez's chosen candidate last week say they're fed up with crime, trash and failing public services.

"There were people who got tired of the same old thing," said Arleth Argote, a 31-year-old Chavez supporter who said the outgoing pro-Chavez mayor did a dismal job and that "it was payback."

Chavez denied his loss in Petare was a defeat among the poor, saying the middle class and wealthy turned out in larger numbers, and that many of the poor still are not registered to vote.

"Gentlemen of the opposition, don't think you control Petare," Chavez said.

Mountains of trash are strewn along the dirt roads of the slum, a vast jumble of brick homes — or "ranchos" — clinging to hillsides. Some residents credit Chavez with bringing free health clinics staffed by Cuban doctors but others complain about rampant violent crime and potholes.

Petare has an estimated 900,000 residents and its haphazardly built shantytowns have continued to grow. The slum takes up much of Caracas' Sucre district, where opposition mayoral contender Carlos Ocariz won with nearly 56 percent in the Nov. 23 vote, beating out Jesse Chacon, an ex-justice minister and close Chavez aide.

"We're going to change Sucre district," Ocariz told supporters as he took office. "You have a mayor here who's going to be hitting the pavement and the barrios with you."

Chavez remains popular in Venezuela and his allies won 17 of 22 gubernatorial races. But Caracas swung toward the opposition, which won the city mayor's office and three of four district mayoral races.

Ocariz, a middle-class engineer and former congressman, says his support came from all economic levels, noting a large majority of residents are low-income.

"People are tired of living poorly," Ocariz told The Associated Press. "It was a struggle between ideology and daily life."

It was the second run for the 37-year-old, who lost in 2004. Previously the opposition had little success making inroads into traditionally pro-Chavez slums.

This year, Chavez ally Jorge Rodriguez held on to the Libertador district for a lone mayoral win in the capital. Still, Rodriguez won with 16-23 percentage points less than his predecessor in 2004 in poor areas including 23 de Enero, La Vega and Coche.

The opposition accuses Chavez of not doing enough for the poor, while the president insists they are his guiding focus. Official figures show poverty has declined from 43.9 percent in 1998 to 28.5 percent last year, as the Venezuela's oil-fueled economy benefits from previously high petroleum prices.

Now that prices for Venezuelan crude have slumped, Chavez says his government may eventually have to tighten its belt. But he promises to keep up spending on social programs including subsidized markets offering cheap food and cash benefits for single mothers.

Chavez is calling for a vote in February on whether to do away with term limits — a change that would allow him to run for re-election in 2012 and beyond.