Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro yesterday faced fresh international censure after he was re-elected in a vote denounced by opponents as a farce cementing autocracy in the crisis-stricken OPEC nation.
The 55-year-old successor to former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez hailed his win as a victory against “imperialism,” but his main rival refused to recognize the result, alleging irregularities.
Thousands of Maduro supporters, many wearing red berets, hugged and danced outside the Miraflores presidential palace as the results came in, under confetti in the yellow, blue and red colors of the Venezuelan national flag.
Photo: AFP
“The revolution is here to stay,” a jubilant Maduro told the crowd, promising to prioritize economic recovery after five years of recession in the nation of 30 million people.
“Let’s go, Nico!” his supporters chanted until after midnight during party scenes in downtown Caracas.
“We mustn’t cave to any empire, or go running to the IMF as Argentina did. The opposition must leave us alone to govern,” said government supporter Ingrid Sequera, 51, wearing a T-shirt with a logo of Chavez’s eyes.
Declaring Sunday’s vote a “sham,” the US is now threatening sanctions on Venezuela’s all-important oil sector, which is already reeling from falling output, a brain drain and creaking infrastructure. The EU and major Latin Americans repeatedly warned in advance that conditions were unfair.
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera was scathing about Sunday’s vote.
“Venezuela’s elections do not meet minimum standards of true democracy,” he said. “Like most major democratic nations, Chile does not recognize these elections.”
The Panamanian government followed suit, saying it would not recognize the result, but Cuba and El Salvador sent congratulations.
Venezuela’s mainstream opposition boycotted the vote, given that two of its most popular leaders were barred, authorities had banned the coalition and various of its parties from using their names, and the Venezuelan National Electoral Council is run by Maduro loyalists.
The government used ample state resources during the campaign and pressure was put on public workers to vote.
The council said that Maduro took 5.8 million votes, versus 1.8 million for his chief challenger, former Lara State governor Henri Falcon, who broke with the boycott to stand.
Turnout at the election was 46 percent, the council said, down from 80 percent at the last presidential vote in 2013.
Falcon called for a new vote, complaining about the government placing nearly 13,000 pro-government stands called “red spots” close to polling stations nationwide.
Mainly poor Venezuelans were asked to scan state-issued “fatherland cards” at red tents after voting in hope of receiving a “prize” promised by Maduro. The “fatherland cards” are required to receive benefits including food boxes and money transfers.
Maduro now faces a colossal task to turn around Venezuela’s moribund economy, but has offered no specifics on reforming two decades of state-led policies.
The bolivar is down 99 percent over the past year and inflation is at an annual 14,000 percent, the Venezuelan National Assembly said.
Furthermore, Venezuela’s multiple creditors are considering accelerating claims on unpaid foreign debt, while oil major ConocoPhillips has been taking aggressive action to seize state oil company PDVSA’s assets over a 2007 nationalization.
While increasingly shunned in the West, Maduro can count on the support of China and Russia, who have provided billions of dollars in funding over the past few years.
In Beijing, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lu Kang (陸慷) said that China believes the Venezuelan government and people could handle their own affairs and that everyone should respect the choice of the Venezuelan people.
Asked whether China has sent congratulations to Maduro, Lu said that China would “handle this in accordance with diplomatic convention,” but did not elaborate.
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