Can there be free and fair elections in Venezuela?

History has shown that elections in Venezuela for the past 16 years Venezuela have been tainted. Although some may say that there is a democracy because there are elections, most of them have not been fair.

On December 6, 2015, Venezuela will embark on the journey of trying once again to have transparent Parliamentary elections. The inability of the Maduro regime to conduct honest and transparent elections started in 2014 when Maduro “won” the presidential election against Henrique Capriles.  Ignoring the request of the opposition to recount the votes, Maduro “won” by a very narrow margin. Although Maduro agreed to re-count the votes, that never happened and Capriles lost the election

Prior to the 2014 Presidential elections, a survey conducted by the Venezuelan Institute for Data Analysis indicated that 45% all Venezuelans (including Chavistas) would have voted for Henrique Capriles. 39 % said they would have voted for Nicolas Maduro and 16 % were undecided.  We all know the outcome.

Since then, the Maduro regime with President of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, have repeatedly made undemocratic moves by paralyzing members of the Parliament. That is the case of Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado who had been fired from her Legislature post by Diosdado Cabello even though the people of Venezuela elected her. Other opposition leaders banned from running are Daniel Ceballo, former Mayor of San Cristobal Municipality, in Tachira State, and Vicencio “Enzo” Scarano, former mayor of the municipality of San Diego in Carabobo State.

The electoral corruption and violation of democratic principals didn’t start with Nicolas Maduro. According to Forensic Analysis of Venezuelan Elections, during Chávez there were a number of elections with questionable outcomes. A case in point is the 2004 Presidential Recall Referendum. According to Forensic Analysis, the reliability of the voters registered was questionable, and there were unusual “variations in the electoral roll which were decisive in winning the 50% majority in the 2004 Referendum.”

Going back to the new December 2015 Parliamentary elections, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has rejected the OAS proposal to take part in the election as an observer. In a country where there is no transparency and the institutions of government are sequestered, can we honestly believe that Venezuela will have fair and transparent elections?

Master of Distraction

While Venezuela deepens and deepens into an abysm of economic depression, and devastating lack of products and an out of control delinquency,  Nicolas Maduro came to the United Nations with a large entourage to discuss the disagreement with Guyana in an effort to distract the UN and the rest of the world. Under any circumstance we minimize the protecting of the Venezuelan land, but the situation in Venezuela is so critical and hungry is spreading like a wild fire that is prompting people through out the country to breaking into food storage places, an supermarkets desperate to find food. Maduro who lacks respect for the Venezuelan continues accusing the opposition of wedging an economic war to tumble the government.  Everyone knows that is Maduro’s government who has got a tied control of the dollar in Venezuelan, restringing the few private companies left continue producing. In the mean time the prices are out of control for the few goods available and the country has fallen into a hyperinflation.

It is very difficult to believe that Venezuela, a rich oil country has its citizen scrambling for food and is forcing people to break the law in this lawless country run by an inept government that has been keen in human right violations and the continues blaming game that Nicolas Maduro inherited from his predecessor Hugo Chavez.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan political prisoners like Leopoldo Lopez, Daniel Ceballo, Antonio Ledezma, as well as many Students are still the victims of this tyrant regime.  This, is in addition to the constant harassment and human right violations against former Assemblywoman, Maria Corina Machado, other opposition leaders and the average citizens. There is no solutions in sight. 

Leopoldo Lopez forced to go to trial in Venezuela

Las week Political prisoner Leopoldo Lopez was forced to go to a trial in Venezuela, a country where there is not justice or transparency. His wife Lilian Tintoti has expressed  strong concern about Leopoldo’s health condition.

Last February  Venezuelan political leader Leopoldo Lopez was a victim of an  illegal court procedure behind closed doors. This action not only violated the rights of Leopoldo to have a fair trial, but also violated the Venezuelan Constitution. 

Maduro's cowardliness started with the unjustified arrest of  Leopoldo Lopez,  The regime has kept Lopez  in prison for more than a year, falsely accused of steering violent protests against the Maduro regime.  Angry protests erupted after the senseless murder of the actress and model Monica Spear and her husband. Spear's murder, followed  by a rape attempt to a female University student, further infuriated students who took to the streets to protest the enormous insecurity problems that face the country.

The protests grew across the country, leaving over 50 students dead and  hundreds incarcerated.  In support of the students,  Leopoldo Lopez called for peaceful protests. This prompted the Maduro regime to exercise its dictatorship role, arresting Leopoldo Lopez in February. A year later,  Leopoldo Lopez remains Maduro's prisoner.

Meanwhile, other political leaders like City of Tachira's Major Daniel  Ceballos  who is currently in critical conditions, in a Los Teques prison, and Caracas' Major, Antonio Ledezma were imprisoned by Maduro under false accusations. Student protestors remain victims of this government, many in prison and suffering abuses and tortures.

The bravery of our young student protesters and their desire for a better nation have forced them to forfeit their dreams and confront the dictator with their only weapon: Protesting. The Maduro regime has decided to not only steal their futures with economic uncertainty, but also to take their lives for speaking out. In a perfect world, Nicolas Maduro should have been forced to resign by the international community, and be prosecuted for crimes against humanity.