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Sunday, December 06, 2020, 18:11
Venezuela votes for parliament as opposition stages boycott
By Reuters
Sunday, December 06, 2020, 18:11 By Reuters

Government supporters chant for parliamentary candidates representing the Great Patriotic Pole party at a closing campaign rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. (ARIANA CUBILLOS / AP)

CARACAS - Venezuelans on Sunday choose a new congress in an election that the opposition is boycotting.

The vote is almost certain to return congress to President Nicolas Maduro’s allies despite his government struggling with an economy in ruins, aggressive US sanctions that stifle the OPEC nation’s oil exports, and the migration of some 5 million citizens.

The vote is almost certain to return congress to Nicolas Maduro’s allies despite his government struggling with an economy in ruins, aggressive US sanctions that stifle the OPEC nation’s oil exports, and the migration of some 5 million citizens

Members of the new congress will have few tools to improve the lives of Venezuelans whose monthly salaries rarely cover the cost of a day’s groceries, nor will their election improve Maduro’s reputation among Western nations for mismanagement and undermining of human rights.

READ MORE: Bolivia's new socialist govt restores ties with Iran, Venezuela

It could, however, provide legitimacy for Maduro to offer investment deals to the few companies around the world willing to risk running afoul of Washington’s sanctions for access to the world’s largest oil reserves.

Many Venezuelans struggling with basic needs such as electricity, security and food express weariness with the country’s politicians, who they say have done nothing to stem the slide in living conditions.

The election closes a cycle that began in 2015 when a euphoric opposition celebrated winning congress by a landslide, only to see their legislative powers swept aside by pro-government courts and the creation in 2017 of an all-powerful body known as the National Constituent Assembly.

Opposition leader Juan Guaido, head of the current congress, is calling on Venezuelans to skip the vote and participate in a Dec 12 consultation that will ask citizens if they reject Sunday’s vote and whether they want a change of government.

ALSO READ: Opp lawmaker: US-sanctioned Iranian plane lands in Venezuela

Guaido has been recognized by more than 50 countries including the United States as Venezuela’s legitimate interim president, after most Western nations disavowed Maduro’s 2018 re-election as fraudulent.

Those countries are expected to continue their recognition of Guaido, though the opposition is discussing proposals that could limit the size of his interim government and reduce the number of ambassadors.

The legislature on Saturday approved a resolution condemning Sunday’s “event” as fraudulent and unconstitutional, adding it “violates Venezuelans’ right to hold free, transparent and fair elections.”

READ MORE: Venezuelan opposition figure Lopez abandons Caracas refuge

The top US envoy on Venezuela, Elliott Abrams, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that there was strong bipartisan consensus in Washington over the need to keep pressure on Maduro, and that he did not expect major changes to US policy when Joe Biden takes office on Jan 20.


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