Venezuela’s regional and municipal elections are being held on Sunday (21) amid a political and social crisis unprecedented in the history of the Latin American country.
Nicolas Maduro’s regime was widely criticized by the international community and questioned for genuine political independence judiciary From Venezuela, there is a chance to show the world a country with democratic lines and a conciliatory tone.
The director of ILASP (Latin American Institute of Economy, Society and Politics), Fabio Borges, believes that the participation of the opposition and international observers can usher Venezuela into a fresh start.
“The novelty of this election is that the opposition will legitimize this election and participate with force in the vote. There is also a great openness to international observer, which does not guarantee that the election will be free, perfectly valid, that everything will be fine, but within a stalemate that lasts for years, it is an advance. ,
For the director of Ilaesp, the economic and political crisis in Venezuela was caused by both the left, which is in power with Maduro, and the right, which declared Juan Guaidó as interim President of the country – with the support of the international community,
,[Estas eleições são] A progress that has much to do with the suffering faced by the Venezuelan people over the past ten years, along with internal problematic processes, as well as external pressures and interventions. This is a scenario that triggered a humanitarian crisis in South America”, says Borges.
weakening of mature government
The severe social crisis Venezuela is facing has undermined the Maduro government, which could experience it in numbers in this month’s elections. Still, Borges points out that the country is dominated by leftists and that a shift to the right may be too far.
“In the past elections, the authority in Venezuela has been strengthening and restructuring, while Maduro is losing credibility”, explains Pimenta, while the Venezuelan president still enjoys widespread support. “It is not the majority that is purely the result of political and social manipulation or voters. Many people still have an ideological association with Bolivarianism and Chavismo.”
weakening of mature The situation is worsening at a time when Latin America is divided between left and right. According to Borges, it is possible to see this dichotomy in other countries in the region, such as Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.
“I would say that, like in other Latin American countries, where our countries are divided in two, the extreme is disputed vote-for-vote in each election. […] We have a divided continent and I think the case of Venezuela will demonstrate that, I hope it does not harm the legitimacy of the election.
The election’s approval by international observers, the government and the opposition is necessary for Venezuela to try to return to a positive role in South America. These results could be the first step towards reconciliation of the country.
For the expert, the outcome of the ballots should also be regarded as a possibility for self-criticism by political trends, which could guide the next actions of the left and right in Venezuela.
“If the right eventually wins, which may happen, then the left will have to do a great deal of self-criticism of what was interesting in this project of socialism in the 21st century, in important social projects, in this Venezuelan foreign policy. Points. Despite all this, the result was a tremendous humanitarian crisis. ”
“On the other hand, I think the right has to stop boycotting elections that they don’t win. This is not a right that has a lot of democratic faith”, Borge insists.
Legitimacy of elections could bring US and Venezuela closer
The United States is one of the countries that has put the most pressure on the Maduro government, with public criticism and promotion of economic sanctions isolating the South American country.
Borges says Venezuela’s important role in the international scene of the production of oil-derived products makes clear its rapprochement with North Americans.
“It’s Not Utopian [uma reaproximação dos países], In general there were very close ties between Venezuela and the United States. This period we are seeing that there is more to the exception of diplomatic norms between countries than the rule. They always had a good relationship.”
Although he believes in commercial and diplomatic relations between nations, Borges says the process will be gradual, as Barack Obama did with Cuba.
