He was widely expected to lose, and yet the very authoritarian Nicolás Maduro, who was running for a third term, was officially re-elected as head of Venezuela on Sunday. The opposition is contesting this.
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Even before the official results were announced, the inhabitants of Petare, a suburb of Caracas, the largest favela in the country, took to the streets on Sunday, July 28, to dance, shout, and celebrate the end of Maduro’s reign… certain of the opposition’s victory.
A few hours later, it was a cold shower: the National Electoral Council gave figures that left the country incredulous: 51.2% of the votes for the outgoing president, only 44.2% for his rival Edmundo Gonzalez. There were still 20% of ballots to be counted but the Electoral Council spoke of a victory.relentless and irreversible“. Associated with an exceptional participation rate of 59% which should normally have benefited the opposition.
For the opposition, there is no doubt: the election was stolen. “We won with 70% of the vote” hammers Maria Corina Machado, a charismatic candidate declared ineligible by the government, who spoke at a press conference: “Venezuela has an elected president, it is Edmundo González Urrutia, and everyone knows it. We all know what happened today. And when I say everyone knows, I start with the regime itself.”
“All the rules have been broken, said Edmundo Gonzalez. Most of the ballots were not even counted. Our struggle continues…and we will not stop until the will of the Venezuelan people is respected.“
“We have serious concerns that the announced result does not reflect the will or vote of the Venezuelan people.“: these are the words of the American Secretary of State, who spoke just a few minutes after the results were announced.
Antony Blinken is demanding the detailed publication of the votes, as are the Chilean president, the Costa Rican president, and the representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, who is asking for a “total transparency“. Rome and Madrid are on the same line.
Only Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel hails the “triumph” electoral success of Hugo Chavez’s heir. China, which maintains close ties with Caracas, also sent its congratulations to Nicolhass Maduro for his re-election.
In 2018, during Nicol’s previous contested re-electionhass Maduro, the demonstrations were violently repressed: today, the outgoing president who is clinging to power still benefits from the support of the army – which he has considerably strengthened.
No one can predict what will happen in the coming days. But Venezuelans who wanted to turn the page on 25 years of Chavista rule no longer have much to lose, in a country where it has become impossible to get medical care, to get an education, to live properly. Altercations have already broken out during the night between supporters of both camps.
Under Nicol’s two termshass Maduro GDP has fallen by almost 80%, inflation has exploded (the authorities had to introduce the dollar, which now coexists with the bolivar, the national currency). Oil production has been divided by three, a consequence of mismanagement and corruption.
The economic situation is so dire that in the last ten years one in four inhabitants has left the country. Many more were considering doing so if Nicol were re-elected.hass Maduro.