Despite
a high level of election transparency, one that Jimmy Carter called
“the best in the world”, the US and its allies have accused
Venezuela of election fraud. Caleb Maupin breaks down how Venezuela’s
electoral system really works.
by
Caleb T. Maupin
Part
4 - Socialists optimistic, despite hardships
During
his election campaign, Maduro touted Venezuela’s recent launching
of a crypto-currency, the petro, which has raised billions of dollars
for the indebted government. Maduro has called for an “economic
revolution” to alter the country’s dependency on foreign-imported
medicine, food, and consumer goods, which has made it vulnerable to
foreign sabotage.
While
many have referred to the food and medicine shortages in Venezuela as
a “humanitarian crisis,” Alfred de Zayas, the UN Special Envoy
who spent eight days in the country in December of 2017, disagreed.
De Zayas echoed the analysis of the UN’s Food and Agricultural
Organization (FAO), saying “the so-called humanitarian crisis
does not exist in Venezuela, although there are shortages, scarcity,
and distribution delays, etc.”
The
Venezuelan economy is centered around PDVSA, the state-controlled oil
corporation that generates most of the country’s GDP and revenue.
Venezuela’s economic problems began in 2014 when oil prices
dramatically dropped, and remained low for the following two years.
However,
oil prices are now steadily increasing, reaching above $70 per
barrel, and supporters of Maduro are optimistic that Venezuela will
be able to recover from the last few years of hardship.
Candidate
Henri Falcon has contested the results, calling them fraudulent. The
Trump administration, as well as Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), have
indicated that they intend to impose new sanctions on Venezuela in
response to the election, which they consider illegitimate.
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