VENEZUELA
Plight of the Weary
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro won a second term Sundayin a vote boycotted by the opposition, and one condemned by the international community as heavily rigged as a worsening political, economic and humanitarian crisis grips the country.
Turnout was anemic – less than half of all eligible voters went to the polls – delivering Maduro a win with 68 percent of the vote. In the past two presidential elections, turnout topped 80 percent.
President Maduro was quick to celebrate the win, but the vote symbolized just how jaded Venezuelans have become with political change in their country, the New York Times reported.
In the five years since Maduro took office, inflation in one of the world’s most resource-rich nations has ballooned to 13,000 percent and a small portion of meat now costs a monthly salary. Hunger is widespread, and medicine and other necessities are scarce.
The United States and other countries have already indicated they won’t recognize the results of the elections because Venezuelan electoral authorities had barred the nation’s largest opposition party from competing, jailed activists and politicians and moved up the campaign season by seven months to ensure that other candidates had little time to prepare.
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