Venezuela’s election has given a boost to the autocrats

The Failure of the Nicols Maduro Reelection Campaign in Venezuela: Stories of Entrepreneurship, Economy and Inflation in the Americas

The election that led to the reelection of Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicols Maduro, appears to have been flawed. The outcome is a disappointment for the opposition and millions of Venezuelans who are longing for democratic change, even though the situation is already facing challenges. The election was a crucial test of the durability of the new brand of authoritarianism gripping the Americas — and it has proved that the movement may not fade away anytime soon.

After years of election boycotts and internal divisions, the opposition has coalesced around a single candidate, who will face off against the leader of the ruling party.

The supreme court of the Venezuela turned away Machado from running for an office for 15 years. A former lawmaker, she swept the opposition’s October primary with over 90% of the vote. She was allowed to register to vote, but she was not allowed to join the presidential race due to the National Electoral Council. That’s when González, a political newcomer, was chosen.

Venezuela’s election is a fulcrum moment for the Americas. Despite high turnout, there were many reports of problems at voting centers. Nevertheless, with 80 percent of the votes counted, the nation’s electoral council declared Mr. Maduro the winner with 51.2 percent of the vote compared with 44.2 percent for his main rival. The opposition had no way to point out a different outcome because officials at many voting centers refused to hand over paper copies of the vote tally.

Venezuela sits atop the world’s largest proven oil reserves, and once boasted Latin America’s most advanced economy. But it entered into a free fall after Maduro took the helm. Plummeting oil prices, widespread shortages and hyperinflation that soared past 130,000% led first to social unrest and then mass emigration.

Economic sanctions from the U.S. seeking to force Maduro from power after his 2018 reelection — which the U.S. and dozens of other countries condemned as illegitimate — only deepened the crisis.

The economic security that Maduro tried to sell to the electorate this election is stories of entrepreneurship, a stable currency exchange and lower inflation rates. After having shrunk from 2012 to 2020, the International Monetary Fund expects the economy to grow 4% this year, one of the fastest in Latin America.

There has not been any change inVenezuela’s quality of life. Familiesstruggling to afford essential items due to many earning under $200 a month. There are some who work second and third jobs. A basket of basic staple items costs $385 to feed a family of four.

An April poll by Caracas-based Delphos said about a quarter of Venezuelans were thinking about emigrating if Maduro wins Sunday. The margin of error was 2 percentage points.

The lawmaker’s son said the ballot boxes show what the streets said in the past few months. It was a victory for the people of Venezuela.

VP Harris offered her support. “The United States stands with the people of Venezuela who expressed their voice in today’s historic presidential election.,” Harris wrote on X. “The will of the Venezuelan people must be respected.”

Machado was careful not to claim victory before authorities announce results but said she had already received copies of some official voting tallies and they indicated a record turnout — exactly what the opposition needed to overcome Maduro’s well-greased electoral machine.

After the deadline had passed some voting centers in Venezuela remained open and the authorities were silent. The National Electoral Council is supposed to begin counting the ballots.

They promised a landslide victory for Gonzlez, and they were already celebrating online and outside some voting centers. Their hope was boosted by purported exit polls showing a healthy margin of victory for González. Exit polls are not allowed under Venezuelan law.

“We are not against those who have left, we will try to get them back here, and we will also welcome them with open arms,” said Gonzlez.

People cried and chanted “freedom! freedom!” at the rallies of Gonzlez and Machado. as the duo passed by. People handed the devout Catholics rosaries, walked along highways and went through military checkpoints to reach their events. People who migrated to catch a glimpse of the candidates are Video-called their relatives.

The electronic merengue dancing and speeches attacking his opponents was featured in the campaigns rallies. He recoiled after being heat from his left-wing allies, for comments about a “bloodbath” should he lose. His son told the Spanish newspaper El Pais that the ruling party would peacefully hand over the presidency if it loses — a rare admission of vulnerability out of step with Maduro campaign’s triumphalist tone.

Both campaigns have distinguished themselves not only for the political movements they represent but also on how they have addressed voters’ hopes and fears.

“We will change hatred for love, and we will change our goodbyes” – a message to Venezuela against the end of one-party rule

Most Venezuelans who migrated over the past 11 years settled in Latin America and the Caribbean. In recent years, many began aiming towards the U.S.

The lines of joy and hope are what we see today, according to Gonzlez. “We will change hatred for love. We will change poverty for progress. We will change the way we look at things. We will change our goodbyes.

Gonzlez called on the armed forces to respect the decisions of the people after voting at a church-adjacent poll site.

González and Machado focused much of their campaigning on Venezuela’s vast hinterland, where the economic activity seen in Caracas in recent years didn’t materialize. They promised a government that would create sufficient jobs to attract Venezuelans living abroad to return home and reunite with their families.

The opposition has sought to seize on the huge inequalities arising from the crisis that took place when Venezuela’s currency was abandoned for the U.S. dollar.

Source: Venezuelans anxiously await results of an election that could end one-party rule

Venezuelan women emigrate to the United States, and if González loses, she will go to the U.S.

She said that if González loses, she will ask her relatives living in the U.S. to sponsor her and her son’s application to legally emigrate there. She said they couldn’t take it anymore.

Ibarra, a manicurist, was in line at three a.m. on Sunday, but encountered at least 150 other people ahead of her.

She said that there were jobs, security and good pay for the teachers and doctors of Venezuela when she cast her ballot.

It isn’t a universally bleak picture. Democracy is succeeding in other countries. But it is being tested as the opposition to pluralism and inclusion grows, and social unrest and dissatisfaction with the government spreads against a backdrop of stark inequality and institutional instability.