Things to Keep In Mind Ahead of Maduro's May 25 Electoral Fiesta
Chavismo is staging an electoral event on May 25th. We're here to poop the party
Regime agents captured Primero Justicia’s Juan Pablo Guanipa on Friday, a leading opposition figure from this decade. Another setback for the Venezuelan democratic struggle
The elections scheduled for May 25 are supposed to appoint a new National Assembly, governors and state legislatures (“choose” or “elect” might be not be suitable terms anymore, after last year’s events). María Corina Machado and the Unitary Platform are boycotting, and turnout is expected to be a fraction of what we saw in the July 28 presidential election.
Opposition parties were barred from submitting candidates, with the exception of Un Nuevo Tiempo (Manuel Rosales’ party) and Unión y Cambio, a new formation led by Henrique Capriles and Tomás Guanipa. Both recently had their political bans lifted—likely the result of a quiet deal with Maduro & Co, which neither has really denied.
To make matters worse, the regime appears to be removing QR codes from the voting tallies—a key mechanism that allowed observers to collect and share polling station results last year and expose the electoral fraud.
Whether Capriles, Guanipa, and the other non-chavista candidates can demonstrate legitimate wins—assuming they can win anything at all—amid low turnout and mounting irregularities remains to be seen. Will they truly stand apart from the faux “opposition” figures who were gifted National Assembly seats in 2020?
The vote-or-boycott dilemma is only part of a deeper issue. Strengthening society as a whole, rather than blindly voting or supporting leaders, should be the path forward in combating the regime
While an opposition faction seeks to expand systemic pockets of power and another views abstention as a moral imperative, the May mega-vote is all about their inability to sustain unity
A string of Venezuela-related stuff delivered straight to your inbox.
Like Pope Francis, the Uruguayan icon of the Latin American left leaves a mixed legacy on Venezuela
15 media outlets band together... not for aguardiente but for the future of Venezuelan journalism
Venezuelan-born voters are expected to play a key role in Sunday’s legislative elections in the capital city, as Milei aims to defeat former allies on the Argentine right
A new book traces the contributions that Asian scientists have made in domestic institutions and companies for decades, while the Venezuelan diaspora grows at the other end of the planet
Ariadna Pinto, a 20-year-old diabetic, never recovered after falling gravely ill in prison. Lindomar Amaro, 27, died by suicide in Tocorón. #NowWhatVenezuela