SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Supporters of President Nicolás Maduro celebrate after learning the results of the presidential elections as polls closed in Caracas, Venezuela on July 29, 2024.
The U.S.-based National Lawyers Guild called Sunday's election "a triumph for the Venezuelan people, especially considering the level of U.S. interference and attempted sabotage of the democratic process."
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro won reelection to a third term on Sunday with just over 51% of the vote in what one group of independent election observers described as a "fair and transparent" contest, despite loud claims of fraud by the right-wing opposition—a narrative readily boosted by Western corporate media outlets.
The Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE), Venezuela's election authority, said Maduro won 51.2% of the vote with 80% of polling places counted. Edmundo González, an ex-diplomat and the primary opposition candidate, won 44.2% of the vote.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was barred from running in the election, claimed without evidence that González won 70% of the vote. Surveys conducted ahead of Sunday's contest showed González with a substantial lead over Maduro, but Jake Johnston of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) noted that "since 2015, pollsters have overestimated opposition support" in Venezuela "by an average of 29.5 percentage points."
Nearly 60% of Venezuela's electorate of over 21 million people turned out for Sunday's race, according to figures from CNE, which faced calls from experts and political leaders in the region—including left-wing Chilean President Gabriel Boric—to release detailed election results in the interest of transparency.
The U.S.-based National Lawyers Guild (NLG) said in a statement that its delegation of five election observers "visited several polling sites in Caracas and La Guaira and shared notes and information with the 910 electoral observers present from 95 countries and many organizations, including the Carter Center, the United Nations, the African Union, and the Latin American Council of Electoral Experts."
NLG's president, Suzanne Adely, said Sunday's elections "were not only fair and transparent but also represented an example of popular civic participation."
"Their successful outcome is a triumph for the Venezuelan people," Adely added, "especially considering the level of U.S. interference and attempted sabotage of the democratic process, particularly through sanctions and coercive economic measures aimed at producing 'regime change' in Venezuela."
Speaking after CNE's announcement, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States has "serious concerns" that the tallied result "does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people"—a response that drew swift backlash, given longstanding efforts by the United States to overthrow the Latin American nation's elected government and crush its economy with sanctions.
As The Washington Post's Jeff Stein and Federica Cocco reported last week, "Sanctions on Venezuela... contributed to an economic contraction roughly three times as large as that caused by the Great Depression in the United States."
And who knows "the will of the Venezuelan people" better than the US Secretary of State? https://t.co/XLFDkaXOS8
— Venezuelanalysis (@venanalysis) July 29, 2024
Nearly 12 years ago, when Maduro's predecessor President Hugo Chavez was running for reelection, CEPR's co-director Mark Weisbrot reminded readers why the U.S. government continued to "demonize" the idea of democracy in Venezuela despite former U.S. President Jimmy Carter himself calling the Latin American nation's election system "the best in the world."
"In Washington, democracy has a simple definition: does a government do what the State Department wants it to do?" Weisbrot wrote at the time. "The State Department tries to keep its eyes on the prize: Venezuela is sitting on 500 billion barrels of oil, and doesn't respect Washington's foreign policy. That is what makes it public enemy number one, and gets it the worst media coverage."
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro won reelection to a third term on Sunday with just over 51% of the vote in what one group of independent election observers described as a "fair and transparent" contest, despite loud claims of fraud by the right-wing opposition—a narrative readily boosted by Western corporate media outlets.
The Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE), Venezuela's election authority, said Maduro won 51.2% of the vote with 80% of polling places counted. Edmundo González, an ex-diplomat and the primary opposition candidate, won 44.2% of the vote.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was barred from running in the election, claimed without evidence that González won 70% of the vote. Surveys conducted ahead of Sunday's contest showed González with a substantial lead over Maduro, but Jake Johnston of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) noted that "since 2015, pollsters have overestimated opposition support" in Venezuela "by an average of 29.5 percentage points."
Nearly 60% of Venezuela's electorate of over 21 million people turned out for Sunday's race, according to figures from CNE, which faced calls from experts and political leaders in the region—including left-wing Chilean President Gabriel Boric—to release detailed election results in the interest of transparency.
The U.S.-based National Lawyers Guild (NLG) said in a statement that its delegation of five election observers "visited several polling sites in Caracas and La Guaira and shared notes and information with the 910 electoral observers present from 95 countries and many organizations, including the Carter Center, the United Nations, the African Union, and the Latin American Council of Electoral Experts."
NLG's president, Suzanne Adely, said Sunday's elections "were not only fair and transparent but also represented an example of popular civic participation."
"Their successful outcome is a triumph for the Venezuelan people," Adely added, "especially considering the level of U.S. interference and attempted sabotage of the democratic process, particularly through sanctions and coercive economic measures aimed at producing 'regime change' in Venezuela."
Speaking after CNE's announcement, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States has "serious concerns" that the tallied result "does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people"—a response that drew swift backlash, given longstanding efforts by the United States to overthrow the Latin American nation's elected government and crush its economy with sanctions.
As The Washington Post's Jeff Stein and Federica Cocco reported last week, "Sanctions on Venezuela... contributed to an economic contraction roughly three times as large as that caused by the Great Depression in the United States."
And who knows "the will of the Venezuelan people" better than the US Secretary of State? https://t.co/XLFDkaXOS8
— Venezuelanalysis (@venanalysis) July 29, 2024
Nearly 12 years ago, when Maduro's predecessor President Hugo Chavez was running for reelection, CEPR's co-director Mark Weisbrot reminded readers why the U.S. government continued to "demonize" the idea of democracy in Venezuela despite former U.S. President Jimmy Carter himself calling the Latin American nation's election system "the best in the world."
"In Washington, democracy has a simple definition: does a government do what the State Department wants it to do?" Weisbrot wrote at the time. "The State Department tries to keep its eyes on the prize: Venezuela is sitting on 500 billion barrels of oil, and doesn't respect Washington's foreign policy. That is what makes it public enemy number one, and gets it the worst media coverage."
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro won reelection to a third term on Sunday with just over 51% of the vote in what one group of independent election observers described as a "fair and transparent" contest, despite loud claims of fraud by the right-wing opposition—a narrative readily boosted by Western corporate media outlets.
The Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE), Venezuela's election authority, said Maduro won 51.2% of the vote with 80% of polling places counted. Edmundo González, an ex-diplomat and the primary opposition candidate, won 44.2% of the vote.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado, who was barred from running in the election, claimed without evidence that González won 70% of the vote. Surveys conducted ahead of Sunday's contest showed González with a substantial lead over Maduro, but Jake Johnston of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) noted that "since 2015, pollsters have overestimated opposition support" in Venezuela "by an average of 29.5 percentage points."
Nearly 60% of Venezuela's electorate of over 21 million people turned out for Sunday's race, according to figures from CNE, which faced calls from experts and political leaders in the region—including left-wing Chilean President Gabriel Boric—to release detailed election results in the interest of transparency.
The U.S.-based National Lawyers Guild (NLG) said in a statement that its delegation of five election observers "visited several polling sites in Caracas and La Guaira and shared notes and information with the 910 electoral observers present from 95 countries and many organizations, including the Carter Center, the United Nations, the African Union, and the Latin American Council of Electoral Experts."
NLG's president, Suzanne Adely, said Sunday's elections "were not only fair and transparent but also represented an example of popular civic participation."
"Their successful outcome is a triumph for the Venezuelan people," Adely added, "especially considering the level of U.S. interference and attempted sabotage of the democratic process, particularly through sanctions and coercive economic measures aimed at producing 'regime change' in Venezuela."
Speaking after CNE's announcement, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States has "serious concerns" that the tallied result "does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people"—a response that drew swift backlash, given longstanding efforts by the United States to overthrow the Latin American nation's elected government and crush its economy with sanctions.
As The Washington Post's Jeff Stein and Federica Cocco reported last week, "Sanctions on Venezuela... contributed to an economic contraction roughly three times as large as that caused by the Great Depression in the United States."
And who knows "the will of the Venezuelan people" better than the US Secretary of State? https://t.co/XLFDkaXOS8
— Venezuelanalysis (@venanalysis) July 29, 2024
Nearly 12 years ago, when Maduro's predecessor President Hugo Chavez was running for reelection, CEPR's co-director Mark Weisbrot reminded readers why the U.S. government continued to "demonize" the idea of democracy in Venezuela despite former U.S. President Jimmy Carter himself calling the Latin American nation's election system "the best in the world."
"In Washington, democracy has a simple definition: does a government do what the State Department wants it to do?" Weisbrot wrote at the time. "The State Department tries to keep its eyes on the prize: Venezuela is sitting on 500 billion barrels of oil, and doesn't respect Washington's foreign policy. That is what makes it public enemy number one, and gets it the worst media coverage."