Maduro’s victory

Author: Daily Times

It was the result that everyone had been expecting. Yet that makes it no easier for many Venezuelans to swallow. For Nicolás Maduro has been returned to the presidency for another six years.

And he is in a celebratory mood, despite Human Rights Watch Executive Director Americas Division Jose Miguel describing him as a dictator. Indeed, Maduro claims to have secured 67.7 percent of ballots cast, or 5.8 million votes; with the main opposition candidate, Henri Falcón, taking home just 21.2 percent, or 1.8 million.

Yet Maduro appears to be alone in his good cheer. The opposition, for its part, boycotted Sunday’s elections. Falcón ran as an independent. And they did so on the grounds of large-scale rigging; a sentiment echoed by much of the international community. Most of those who wanted to stand against the incumbent either found themselves barred from doing so, thrown in jail or else forced into self-exile.

All of which serves to further fuel American angst towards Latin American socialist leaders. Hugo Chávez, Maduro’s predecessor, was a veritable thorn in Washington’s side. For he did not subscribe to the neo-liberal capitalist agenda. And in the process, he managed to halve both unemployment and poverty while more than doubling income per capita during his 1999-2013 tenure. That he passed the baton on to Maduro has only served to strengthen the US resolve against doing business with the current man of the moment. And it is a move which might backfire.

Admittedly, Trump Town has echoed the opposition’s sentiments in demanding fresh elections. But it has already slapped new sanctions on Caracas. Many Venezuelans are living in crippling economic dire straits — their country is home to the world’s highest inflation rate and much of the population faces unrelenting food and medicine shortages — Maduro may hope that anti-American sentiment will serve as a rallying cry. However short-term that might be.

This may or may not be as inconceivable as it seems. After all, Chávez himself was not averse to the odd authoritarian tendency here and there; such as passing laws curbing media criticism of his regime and doing away with check on his power. This unfortunate part of his legacy is what the Venezuelans are seeing today. And it is what feeds into falsely contrived notions of how socialism does not work; that the only way forward is to subscribe to the global capitalist agenda that allows the US to sell the world.

And as this battle of wills plays on, it is the Venezuelan people who continue to pick up the tab. *

Published in Daily Times, May 23rd 2018.

Share
Leave a Comment

Recent Posts

  • Pakistan

Onic & Careem sign MoU to forge strategic alliance

Islamabad, March 28, 2024: Onic, the new digital telco brand in Pakistan and Careem, the…

11 hours ago
  • Pakistan

Charting the AI Revolution: Pakistan’s Vision for Technological Sovereignty and Economic Growth

In the intricate tapestry of Pakistan’s journey towards technological and economic renaissance, the insights of…

15 hours ago
  • Sindh

Sindh: Senate elections, final list of candidates released

Sindh: Senate elections, final list of candidates released The Election Commission of Sindh has released…

15 hours ago
  • Top Stories

The Federal Cabinet approved the inclusion of 24 names in the ECL

The Federal Cabinet approved the inclusion of 24 names in the ECL The federal cabinet…

15 hours ago
  • Pakistan

ISPR Condemns Terrorist Attacks in Pakistan, Vows Joint Action with China Against Terrorism

The recent incidents of terrorism in Pakistan, notably in Gwadar, Turbat, and Besham, are dastardly…

15 hours ago
  • Business

Pakistan Stock Exchange: Index hits new high of 67,208

Pakistan Stock Exchange: Index hits new high of 67,208 The Pakistan Stock Exchange 100 index…

16 hours ago