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<h1>Five myths about the Venezuelan elections</h1>
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<li> <a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/authors/1491380/tim-anderson"
class="gmail-post-author gmail-post-author-with-img"
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Tim Anderson
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<li><span class="gmail-meta-item">Source: Al Mayadeen
English</span></li>
<li class="gmail-media-date">August 7, 2024 -<font size="1">
<a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/five-myths-about-the-venezuelan-elections"
moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-freetext">https://english.almayadeen.net/articles/analysis/five-myths-about-the-venezuelan-elections</a></font></li>
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<img src="cid:part1.8ItMsFPd.tTKb20Jd@freedomarchives.org"
alt="64d147ce-4765-49ec-aeb4-4bb0717c18b2.jpg" class=""
width="423" height="333"><br>
<p class="gmail-p-summary">Here is the lesson for future
Venezuelan politicians: Will they join national institutionality
or simply become the latest creatures of comprador coup culture?</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">In the global culture wars, there
persists a notion that independent countries must somehow gain
approval from large, predatory military or financial powers.
This of course misses the point that the right to
self-determination of peoples and the independence of nations
presupposes separation from and resistance to those same
imperial powers.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">Ever since the phenomenon of Hugo
Chavez in the late 1990s dispensed with the moribund two-party
system in Venezuela, the great hegemonic power to the north has
struggled to recognise even one of Chavismo’s many electoral
victories. Venezuela had long been a <span><a
href="https://academic.oup.com/jah/article/99/1/24/854919?login=false"
moz-do-not-send="true">source of oil for the US war machine</a></span>
and those old certainties were gone.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">It is in this important context that
we should consider the polemics over the 2024 Venezuelan
presidential elections, and the rejectionist logic of the US
government and its proxies. Several western myths have been
articulated by Washington and then copied by states wishing to
ingratiate themselves with the US regime.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">In this article, I consider the
myths of Washington as an honest broker, the notion of a
Venezuelan ‘dictatorship’ which controls everything, including
the electoral system, the use of partisan polls, the
disqualification of political opponents, and the claim that
Chavismo ruined the country’s economy.</p>
<img src="cid:part2.CT9bsjpD.akEN8L07@freedomarchives.org"
alt="c9f0e3d0-f728-462a-b6f1-bd757484b11f.jpg" class=""
width="282" height="423"><br>
<h2 style="text-align:justify">1. Washington as an honest broker?</h2>
<p style="text-align:justify">The first myth is the idea that
Washington is somehow an authoritative arbiter of “democracy and
human rights” in other nations. The experience of Latin America
has dozens of examples of anti-democratic interference to suit
the interests of the great northern neighbour. In 1889, Cuban
nationalist <span><a
href="https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-dirty-war-on-syria-and-the-globalization-of-war-special-offer/5560516"
moz-do-not-send="true">Jose Martí observed</a></span> the
cynical false pretexts mobilized to intervene, steal victory
from Cuban freedom fighters, create a Spanish-American war, and
seize Spanish territories in the Caribbean, “They want to
provoke a war to have a pretext to intervene and, with the
authority of being mediator and guarantor, to seize the country
… There is no more cowardly thing in the annals of free people;
nor such cold blooded evil”. Since then, there have been <span><a
href="https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/united-states-interventions/"
moz-do-not-send="true">dozens of US interventions</a></span>,
mainly to seize resources or change nationalist governments not
fully in accord with US regional interests.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">Washington has <span><a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14263/"
moz-do-not-send="true">intervened in Venezuela</a></span>
many times since the 1998 Bolivarian Revolution, which aimed to
restore sovereign control over oil resources. Washington backed
<span><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27734144"
moz-do-not-send="true">the 2002 coup attempt.</a></span>
which kidnapped elected President Hugo Chavez, and then ran <span><a
href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-us-news-ap-top-news-venezuela-south-america-79346b4e428676424c0e5669c80fc310"
moz-do-not-send="true">another failed coup attempt in 2020</a></span>.
As part of their hybrid wars, successive US regimes imposed
unilateral coercive measures (“sanctions”) in attempts to damage
the economy, collapse Venezuelan society, and seize the country
and its resources. Notable aggressions were <span><a
href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/3/10/obama-declares-venezuela-a-national-security-threat"
moz-do-not-send="true">Obama’s declaration of Venezuela</a></span>
as a “security threat” to the US and <span><a
href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10715"
moz-do-not-send="true">Trump’s imposition of multiple
“sanctions”</a></span>, which he said were expected to <span><a
href="https://twitter.com/african_stream/status/1818690351831347516"
moz-do-not-send="true">collapse the nation</a></span>,
paving the way for the US to seize its oil. The Biden regime
carried on the Obama-Trump legacy.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">This brief history is enough to
demonstrate why Washington can never be considered an
independent arbiter or mediator; its every move against
Venezuela is tainted with bad faith and criminal self-interest.
Washington has been unable to reconcile itself with strongly
nationalist regimes which reject its hegemonic claims; the
chagrin is so much greater over nationalist regimes which had
been a key energy source. In this respect we should compare the
<span><a
href="https://www.npr.org/2019/01/31/690363402/how-the-cia-overthrew-irans-democracy-in-four-days"
moz-do-not-send="true">CIA’s 1954 coup in Iran</a></span>
(after oil nationalization) with the <span><a
href="https://peoplesworld.org/article/venezuela-2002-the-coup-heard-around-the-world/"
moz-do-not-send="true">CIA-backed attempted coup in
Venezuela</a></span> in 2002 (during partial oil
renationalization).</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">Washington cannot be an honest
broker as regards Venezuela.</p>
<h2 style="text-align:justify">2. Doesn’t a Maduro 'dictatorship'
control the electoral system?</h2>
<p style="text-align:justify">A common mythical theme in Western
reports is that Venezuela under Presidents Chavez and Maduro has
been a “dictatorship” which also controls the electoral system.
In fact, the 1999 constitution and <span><a
href="https://pdba.georgetown.edu/Electoral/Venezuela/LOPE2009.pdf"
moz-do-not-send="true">the subsequent electoral law</a></span>
(updated in 2009) established Electoral Power as a separate arm
within the state, distinct from the Executive. Members of the <span><a
href="https://orinocotribune.com/venezuelan-national-electoral-council-cne-its-origins-and-contemporary-importance/"
moz-do-not-send="true">National Electoral Commission</a></span>
(CNE) are appointed by the National Assembly or the Supreme
Court (TSJ).</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">On top of that, the mechanized
voting system is a unique Venezuelan invention which builds in
security and audits. <span><a
href="https://www.commentary.org/ben-cohen/jimmy-carter-gives-seal-of-approval-to-venezuela-election/"
moz-do-not-send="true">This system was praised</a></span> by
former US President Jimmy Carter back in 2013, “Venezuela
probably has the most excellent voting system that I have ever
known.”</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">During the 2024 elections, the
Carter Centre, minus its founder, reverted to the standard
Washington line, as run by US <span><a
href="https://www.state.gov/assessing-the-results-of-venezuelas-presidential-election/"
moz-do-not-send="true">Secretary of State Anthony Blinken,</a></span>
the CNE results could not be credible because they had not
published (within the first few days) the full disaggregated
voting results. This became the mantra of ‘fraud’ claims.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">While recognising the strong (60%)
participation, Blinken said, “The CNE’s rapid declaration … came
with no supporting evidence. The CNE has still not published
disaggregated data or any of the vote tally sheets”. The <span><a
href="https://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/2024/venezuela-073024.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">Carter Centre similarly argued</a>,</span>
“the authority’s failure to announce disaggregated results by
polling station constitutes a serious breach of electoral
principles”.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">In fact, the process was quite
normal, and well ahead of US election standards. The CNE issued
its initial result for Maduro (<span><a
href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/07/29/nicolas-maduro-claims-victory-in-venezuela-s-presidential-election_6703817_4.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">51.2% after 80% of votes counted</a></span>)
and <span><a
href="https://www.diario.red/articulo/america-latina/cne-publica-segundo-recuento-9687-dando-victoria-maduro-5195-votos-frente-4318-edmundo-gonzalez/20240802210629033583.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">a second report on August 2</a></span>,
after 96.87% had been counted. That second report gave Maduro
51.95% (6.4 million votes) and 43.18 % (5.3 million) for
González. The results came despite “massive informatic attacks”
on the CNE infrastructure and “terrorist” attacks on and the
burning of CNE offices and centres of voting.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">Contrary to Blinken and the Carter
Centre, under the <span><a
href="https://pdba.georgetown.edu/Electoral/Venezuela/LOPE2009.pdf"
moz-do-not-send="true">Organic Law of Electoral Processes</a></span>
(2009) the CNE has to publish full results “within 30 days”. So
for the Carter Centre to demand these results on 30 July, i.e.
within 48 hours, and to claim non-publication had “violated
numerous provisions” of the law, was disingenuous. A week after
the election <span><a
href="https://www.telesurenglish.net/venezuelas-supreme-court-requests-the-cne-to-deposit-documents-of-presidential-elections/"
moz-do-not-send="true">the data and the disputes were
referred</a></span> to Venezuela’s Supreme Court (TSJ).</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">By contrast, the USA has <span><a
href="https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54096399"
moz-do-not-send="true">no national electoral body and its
final results</a></span> usually take more than two months
to finalise. Yet, like Venezuela, the winner is announced by
election officials and media outlets when one candidate is
believed to have an “unbeatable lead”. Unlike in Venezuela, in
the USA there is no direct election of the President, as the
final vote falls to the states under an Electoral College
system. There are <span><a
href="https://www.history.com/news/presidents-electoral-college-popular-vote"
moz-do-not-send="true">five examples of US Presidents</a></span>
(Adams, Hayes, Harrison, G. W. Bush, and Trump) who did not win
the popular vote but won the election.</p>
<h2 style="text-align:justify">3. Didn’t independent polls predict
the defeat of Maduro?</h2>
<p style="text-align:justify">The <span><a
href="https://orinocotribune.com/chavistas-warn-about-escalation-of-media-warfare-against-venezuelas-elections-machado/"
moz-do-not-send="true">media warfare before and during</a></span>
the elections was intense. US media was in open campaigning
mode, with the <span><a
href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/19/opinion/venezuela-elections-maduro.html"
moz-do-not-send="true"><em>New York Times</em> running
headlines like</a></span>: "This Is Venezuela’s Moment. It
Needs the World’s Help”. <em>CNN</em>, for its part, falsely
claimed that Maduro threatened a "bloodbath" if he did not win;
in fact he was referring to planned opposition tactics and their
long history of violence and non-compliance. In fact, Maduro
predicted the opposition organised violence the day after the
poll. <span><a
href="https://redaccionrosario.com/2024/08/05/venezuela-25-anos-de-violencia-golpista/"
moz-do-not-send="true">There had been 25 years</a></span> of
such “golpista” (coup-oriented) violence.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">Maduro <span><a
href="https://www.telesurtv.net/presidente-nicolas-maduro-denuncia-censura-de-medios-de-comunicacion-sobre-la-verdad-de-venezuela/?noamp=available"
moz-do-not-send="true">denounced media misinformation</a></span>,
saying he was trying to prevent a war and that the US-backed
opposition wanted to convert the country into a neoliberal
disaster like Argentina under Milei. Nevertheless, <span><a
href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/23/americas/analysis-venezuela-election-maduro-intl-latam/index.html"
moz-do-not-send="true"><em>CNN</em> argued that the election</a></span>
was "a chance to rebuild Venezuela's economic power", while <span><a
href="https://www.ft.com/content/6d83211a-b537-40f2-8c25-a03aec290ad3"
moz-do-not-send="true"><em>The Financial Times</em> claimed</a></span>
polls show a "crushing defeat" was coming for Maduro, if there
were a “clean vote”.</p>
<div class="gmail-related-section">
</div>
<p style="text-align:justify">The polls were weaponised. In the
lead-up to the elections, several US-commissioned polls
(Datanálisis, Delphos, Consultores 21 y ORC Consultores)
conditioned <span><a
href="https://www.france24.com/es/am%C3%A9rica-latina/20240721-guerra-de-encuestas-tensi%C3%B3n-e-incertidumbre-marcan-el-ambiente-electoral-en-venezuela"
moz-do-not-send="true">a narrative that the opposition
candidate Edmundo Gonzalez</a></span> – a former <span><a
href="https://en.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/politica/revelan-pasado-sanguinario-de-edmundo-gonzalez/"
moz-do-not-send="true">CIA operative who helped form the
notorious death squads</a></span> in Central America in the
1980s but who was <span><a
href="https://www.as-coa.org/articles/poll-tracker-venezuelas-2024-presidential-election"
moz-do-not-send="true">barely known in Venezuela</a></span>
until quite recently – was <span><a
href="https://www.elespectador.com/mundo/elecciones-venezuela-2024/asi-van-las-encuestas-presidenciales-en-venezuela-2024-gonzalez-lleva-ventaja/"
moz-do-not-send="true">20 or 30 points ahead</a></span> in
public opinionو and therefore Nicolas Maduro could only win by
fraud.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">The <em>LA Times</em> <span><a
href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/opinion-venezuelas-president-nicol%C3%A1s-maduro-could-lose-a-landslide-election-but-will-it-matter/ar-BB1qpkgE"
moz-do-not-send="true">claimed polls were predicting</a></span>
a landslide for Gonzalez. It said that, for Maduro to win,
"given his opponent’s 25- to 30-point lead in the polls, would
require massive fraud". <span><a
href="https://www.as-coa.org/articles/poll-tracker-venezuelas-2024-presidential-election"
moz-do-not-send="true">Poll tracker, also citing Dataincorp,
Meganálisis and ORC Consultores</a></span> gave Gonzalez a
huge lead of 50-70% over Maduro's 12-18%.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">Western reports studiously avoided
polls by Hinterlaces, Paramétrica and Ámbito, <span><a
href="https://www.telesurtv.net/encuestas-ubican-a-nicolas-maduro-como-ganador-de-elecciones-en-venezuela/"
moz-do-not-send="true">which predicted</a></span> pretty
much what the CNE would announce in the early hours of July 29.
Ámbito in July had Maduro winning with between 51.74% and 71.6%
of the vote, with Gonzalez securing between 20.5 and 24%.
Paramétrica had Maduro on 51.74% and Gonzalez on 29.06%. On
participation, 68% said they would turn out to vote, with their
minds focused on the economy. <span><a
href="https://orinocotribune.com/hinterlaces-poll-president-maduro-leads-voter-preference-with-55-6-support-while-far-rights-edmundo-gonzalez-gets-22-1/"
moz-do-not-send="true">Hinterlaces in June had President
Maduro leading</a></span> with 55.6% support, with the far
right’s Edmundo González on 22.1%.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">There was even a <span><a
href="https://es-us.noticias.yahoo.com/deportes/elecciones-venezuela-guerra-sondeos-boca-221808334.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">“war of exit polls”</a></span>, with
Hinterlaces giving Maduro 54.6% and Gonzalez 42.5% at 12 midday,
while the US-oriented Meganálisis gave Gonzalez 65.8% at 3 pm.
The United States and opposition also cited a 3 pm <span>exit
poll which supported</span> their claimed victory, conducted <span><a
href="https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/exit-poll-used-by-venezuela-opposition-sourced-from-us-gov-l"
moz-do-not-send="true">by Edison Research</a></span>, a
company linked to the CIA. None of this was conclusive.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">The US government has notoriously
funded media and poll bodies to suit its ends. For example, the
International Republican Institute (IRI) <span><a
href="https://www.iri.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/201220August201720IRI20Syria20Index2C20June201-July2022C202012.pdf"
moz-do-not-send="true">used ‘snowball polls’ in 2012 to
suggest internal Syrian support for armed intervention</a></span>
during the attempted ‘color revolution’ in Syria. Such deeply
biased ‘polls’, which start with friends and move to friends of
friends, have no representative validity at all. It is likely
that similar techniques were used in Venezuela to inflate
expectations of victory and then claims of fraud when the
US-backed candidate did not win.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">One crack in this media war was
shown in <span><a
href="https://www.msn.com/es-us/noticias/other/maduro-podría-ganar-esta-elección-sin-fraude-electoral-dice-experta/vi-BB1qwc36"
moz-do-not-send="true">an interview on MSN</a></span>, where
conservative lawyer and international consultant Eglée
González-Lobato acknowledged that Maduro could win “without
electoral fraud”. “Venezuela's electoral system is quite robust,
leaving enough traces for automation experts to detect any
errors”, she said.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">All candidates except Gonzalez <span><a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/venezuela-candidates-sign-agreement-to-accept-electoral-results-us-backed-opposition-abstains/"
moz-do-not-send="true">signed a statement</a></span> saying
they would accept the CNE’s result. The ‘Unified Platform’, it
seems, <span><a
href="https://www.globovision.com/nacional/24589/plataforma-unitaria-cantara-fraude-no-reconocera-resultados-del-cne-sino-sus-propias-actas"
moz-do-not-send="true">was determined to not recognise</a></span>
any results announced by the CNE. They expected defeat and were
<span><a
href="https://www.globovision.com/nacional/24589/plataforma-unitaria-cantara-fraude-no-reconocera-resultados-del-cne-sino-sus-propias-actas"
moz-do-not-send="true">crying “fraud” well before</a></span>
the election.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">This writer was one of more than one
thousand international guests, called to observe the elections.
Most reported favourably on the general climate in the lead-up
to and during the elections, and on the integrity of the voting
process itself. The Venezuelan government <span><a
href="https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-election-european-union-electoral-observers-maduro-5e05e255f0b67bf9f476aa7a1b889016"
moz-do-not-send="true">did not allow in as observers</a></span>
those who had attacked the country, such as an EU delegation
which had backed illegal US economic siege measures against the
country. Nevertheless, Washington and the <em>BBC </em>reported
that anonymous “international observers” had condemned the
election. This was highly misleading. Consider these favourable
and ‘free and fair’ reports <span><a
href="https://www.lacacerola.cl/2024/08/05/hubo-fraude-en-las-elecciones-presidenciales-en-venezuela/"
moz-do-not-send="true">from Chilean observers</a></span> and
<span><a
href="https://www.citizen.co.za/news/news-world/south-african-observers-venezuela-elections-fair/"
moz-do-not-send="true">South African observers</a></span>.</p>
<h2 style="text-align:justify">4. Doesn’t Maduro bar his opponents
from running for election?</h2>
<p style="text-align:justify">US sources often cite the
disqualification of some Venezuelan candidates as an example of
the “dictatorship”. In fact, disqualifications are done by law
and not by executive order. In the past, some far-right
opposition figures have been disqualified for serious crimes. <span><a
href="https://theconversation.com/who-is-leopoldo-lopez-the-newly-freed-opposition-leader-behind-venezuelas-uprising-116336"
moz-do-not-send="true">Leopoldo López</a></span>, for
example, was convicted and in 2014 sentenced to a long prison
term for public incitement, criminal conspiracy, and instigating
arson and criminal damage. The US media presented him as a
freedom fighter. López was released from jail early in 2017.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">In the case of <span><a
href="https://orinocotribune.com/maria-corina-machado-and-the-betrayal-of-venezuela/"
moz-do-not-send="true">Maria Corina Macahado</a></span>, the
opposition leader who could not run in 2024, the reported
reasons for her disqualification included decisions of the
Supreme Court that:</p>
<ul style="text-align:justify">
<li><span><a
href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/27/venezuela-court-disqualifies-leading-opposition-presidential-candidate"
moz-do-not-send="true">She supported US unilateral
sanctions</a></span>, had been involved in corruption, and
helped cause losses of Venezuela’s foreign assets, including
the United States-based oil refiner Citgo and chemicals
company Monomeros (in Colombia);</li>
<li><span><a
href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/01/27/venezuela-s-supreme-court-disqualifies-opposition-leader-from-running-for-president_6469941_4.html"
moz-do-not-send="true">She was involved</a></span> in “the
corruption plot orchestrated by the usurper Juan Guaido",
which led to a "criminal blockade of the Bolivarian Republic
of Venezuela, as well as the shameless dispossession of the
companies and wealth of the Venezuelan people abroad, with the
complicity of corrupt governments";</li>
<li><span><a
href="https://x.com/LuisaKnuckles/status/1819503532028187139"
moz-do-not-send="true">She had been an appointed
Panamanian diplomat</a></span>, which is prohibited under
articles 149 and 191 of the constitution,</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align:justify">In many other countries, she would
be serving a very long prison sentence, not just facing
disqualification from public office. For example, <span><a
href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2381"
moz-do-not-send="true">US Code § 2381 says</a></span> that
“Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war
against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and
comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of
treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less
than five years and fined under this title but not less than
$10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the
United States.”</p>
<h2 style="text-align:justify">5. Didn’t Chavismo ruin the
country’s economy?</h2>
<p style="text-align:justify">It is true that, after the death of
Chavez in 2003, many of <span><a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/8133/"
moz-do-not-send="true">the tremendous social gains</a></span>
such as the reduction of poverty and extreme poverty were
compromised, but that was mainly due to the economic warfare
carried out against Venezuela by the Obama and Trump regimes.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">In 2015, Obama <span><a
href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/3/10/obama-declares-venezuela-a-national-security-threat#:~:text=Washington%20slaps%20seven%20officials%20with,calling%20Caracas%20a%20security%20threat.&text=US%20President%20Barack%20Obama%20has,placed%20sanctions%20on%20seven%20officials."
moz-do-not-send="true">declared Venezuela a threat to US
security</a></span>, imposing a series of coercive measures
on the country. To this, <span><a
href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF10715"
moz-do-not-send="true">Trump added another 200 measures</a></span>,
intended to bring Venezuela to its knees. The artificial
proclamation of unelected Juan Guaido as “President” added <span><a
href="https://www.reuters.com/article/venezuela-politics-citgo-idUKL1N1ZS16U/"
moz-do-not-send="true">a device by which the Trump
administration could steal</a></span> billions of dollars in
Venezuelan foreign assets, including gold reserves held by the
Bank of England and the entire Citgo petroleum business in the
USA.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">In 2021, UN rapporteur Alena Douhan
reported on <span><a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15323/"
moz-do-not-send="true">the drastic social impact</a></span>
of Washington’s unilateral coercive measures (illegal under
international law). Those wide-reaching “sanctions” against
Venezuela had a “devastating” effect on the entire population’s
living conditions.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">Damage to the economy was worst in
2019-2020, when Venezuelan oil export earnings (and therefore
state capacity for social spending) fell to 1% of those in 2012.
Salaries fell to very low levels with inflation and devaluation
of the currency. However, by 2021, <span><a
href="https://repositorio.cepal.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/37958eeb-086e-4771-a381-631ab55be76e/content"
moz-do-not-send="true">oil exports resumed and inflation
fell</a></span> to very low levels, according to CEPAL. In
2022, <span><a href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/3932"
moz-do-not-send="true">Iran also helped restart</a></span>
some damaged refineries. <span><a
href="https://elperiodicodelaenergia.com/venezuela-exporto-276-millones-barriles-petroleo-enero-febrero-2024/"
moz-do-not-send="true">Oil exports continued to grow through
2023 and 2024</a></span>. With this growth and better
management, <span><a
href="http://www.psuv.org.ve/temas/noticias/venezuela-se-recupera-esfuerzo-propio-y-reencuentro-empresarial/"
moz-do-not-send="true">the currency stabilized and social
investment remained very high</a></span>, as much as 77% of
the budget in 2024.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">By late 2023, President Maduro said
there had been some important achievements, and renewed
prosperity was on course for 2024. <span><a
href="http://www.psuv.org.ve/portada/presidente-maduro-exalta-ocho-logros-alcanzados-2023-y-augura-un-2024-prosperidad/"
moz-do-not-send="true">This prosperity would be underwritten</a></span>
by economic growth, social cohesion and popular participation.
Community level education and health programs could advance.
Better relations with neighbouring Colombia helped stabilize
security, alongside support from other Latin American nations.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">By 2024, Maduro drove the public
housing program into the construction of more than 5 million new
homes, social security was personalised into a Homeland card
(Carnet de la Patria), which is exercised through a phone app
and guarantees food, fuel and other subsidised goods and
services. The opposition and US media called this card <span><a
href="https://www.caracaschronicles.com/2018/11/15/reuters-confirms-the-carnet-de-la-patria-is-utterly-evil/"
moz-do-not-send="true">an “utterly evil” instrument of
repression</a></span>, supposedly because of its
surveillance potential; but that claim confirmed their intention
to dismantle this foundation of social security.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify"><span><a
href="https://misionverdad.com/venezuela/memoria-y-cuenta-logros-y-metas-alcanzadas-en-2023"
moz-do-not-send="true">Online sources</a></span> and
electoral pamphlets reminded citizens that, by investment of
increased oil exports, the government had stabilized the
currency, increased food production, supported the social
missions e.g. providing 100 million free health consultations,
removing illiteracy and stimulating community projects and
diverse small business.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">By January 2024 <span><a
href="https://www.eluniversal.com/venezuela/172783/el-82-de-los-venezolanos-considera-que-le-ira-mejor-en-este-2024-segun-hinterlaces"
moz-do-not-send="true">a Hinterlaces poll showed</a></span>
that 82% of Venezuelans saw things as getting better in 2024.
That certainly improved Maduro’s prospects of re-election. On
the other side, <span><a
href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/columns/the-same-old-path-and-the-dangerous-one/"
moz-do-not-send="true">the opposition mostly relied on</a></span>
slogans of ‘freedom’ and anti-Chavismo, masking the typical
liberal plans to sell off the country’s assets and dismantle
social security. The US backed opposition dared not present
publicly a plan that promised alarming “structural adjustments."</p>
<div class="gmail-single-blog-wrapper">
<div class="gmail-p-content">
<h2 style="text-align:justify">National Institutionality or
Coup Culture?</h2>
<p style="text-align:justify">On 2 August (5 days after the
election) President Maduro referred the opposition claims
against the CNE – plus complaints over hacking attacks on
the CNE - to the Supreme Court (TSJ) under a "writ of
amparo". <span><a
href="https://www.telesurenglish.net/venezuelas-supreme-court-requests-the-cne-to-deposit-documents-of-presidential-elections/"
moz-do-not-send="true">The TSJ in turn called on all
candidates</a></span> to present their complaints and
data. 9 out of 10 did so, except Edmundo Gonzalez.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">Notwithstanding <span><a
href="https://www.state.gov/assessing-the-results-of-venezuelas-presidential-election/"
moz-do-not-send="true">Washington’s latest fraudulent
attempt to declare Gonzalez</a></span> as “elected
president”, Maduro’s re-election internally seems quite
secure, with the CNE, the National Assembly, and the
military, announcing their full support, alongside mass
rallies in support of their institutions and their
democracy. Contrary to western media, pro-government rallies
have been consistently bigger than those of the US backed
opposition.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">US external pressures will
continue and aggravate the ongoing split in opposition
strategies, of either (1) participating in national
institutions or (2) abandoning that for refuge in North
American backed coups.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">Former opposition leaders Manuel
Rosales and Henrique Capriles, both linked to the 2002 coup
attempt and prosecuted for economic crimes, at different
times, nevertheless resumed their engagement in the
political process. Both failed in presidential campaigns but
both also enjoyed successive terms as governors of the
states of Zulia and Miranda, respectively.</p>
<p style="text-align:justify">On the other side, we see failed
fake, unelected “president” Juan Guaido sitting in Miami,
the refuge of many extremist Latin leaders. It seems that
Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez, if they are not
arrested and jailed, will join Juan Guaido as cast off
agents of coups, on behalf of their masters in Washington.
Therein lies a lesson for future Venezuelan politicians:
Will they join national institutionality or simply become
the latest creatures of comprador coup culture?</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="gmail-story-appendix">
<div class="gmail-post_disclaimer">The opinions mentioned in
this article do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Al
mayadeen, but rather express the opinion of its writer
exclusively.</div>
</div>
</div>
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