Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY

A12 WORLD NEWS
Monday 23 october 2017

In gritty city outside Caracas, the story of a socialist win

By FABIOLA SANCHEZ Not all that stems from pert on Venezuela, using Maduro loyalist and presi- with the socialists, Guare-
CHRISTINE ARMARIO ideological conviction. the Spanish word for follow- dent of a newly installed nas went with the opposi-
Associated Press Some voted for the ruling ers of Chavez’s movement. constitutional assembly tion two years ago as Ven-
GUARENAS, Venezuela ezuela’s crisis deepened.
(AP) — Two years ago vot- And with long lines still
ers in Miranda, bewildered forming daily outside nearly
by the decay of their once- empty supermarkets, polls
prosperous nation, deliv- had favored opposition
ered a stinging defeat to candidate Carlos Ocariz to
the ruling socialist party by win handily Sunday.
voting decisively for the But Ocariz garnered just
opposition in parliamentary 37,000 votes in Guarenas
elections. But last week the compared with 57,000 that
state turned red again. went for the opposition in
To Brayand Velasquez’s 2015. His opponent, Hector
mind, it’s simple: While the Rodriguez, won in the city
government has provided with nearly 51,000 votes.
subsidized homes and bags A similar trend played out
of food in a nation plagued on a statewide level and
by economic hardship, across much of the nation
opposition politicians not as opposition candidates
in office or sidelined by were hurt by high absten-
the socialists have been tion rates in their strong-
mostly absent in resolving holds.
daily problems. “They just Observers have attributed
give speeches on TV,” said that to a combination of
Velasquez, a 30-year-old disillusionment among op-
motorcycle taxi driver in position supporters, contra-
the poor, gritty mountain- In this Oct. 18, 2017 photo, a woman cradles her daughter while she waits in line to buy subsided dictory messages from their
side city of Guarenas. food from a grocery store, in Guarenas, in the Venezuelan state of Miranda. Two years ago voters leaders on whether to vote
Opposition leaders have in Miranda, bewildered by the decay of their once-prosperous nation, delivered a stinging defeat at all and an overall lack of
to the ruling socialist party by voting decisively for the opposition in parliamentary elections. But
disputed the surprise result last week the state turned red again. faith in the country’s elec-
of last Sunday’s elections, (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) toral system and the possi-
in which official election bility of change.
returns show government- party out of fear of losing Socialist leaders are hop- that has essentially un- The National Electoral
backed candidates took a government job, others ing the unexpected win checked powers. Council’s last-minute deci-
18 of the country’s 23 gov- not wanting to miss out on will boost support going Guarenas, which is home sion to relocate dozens of
ernorships. But one evident a chance to live in one of into next year’s presiden- to about 200,000 people polling places, affecting
takeaway is that the so- thousands of new homes tial election. And there east of the nation’s capital, more than 200,000 voters
cialist movement founded President Nicolas Maduro’s are other factors favoring Caracas, is in many ways in Miranda, also may have
by the late President Hugo government is building for Chavez’s so-called Boli- emblematic of how the discouraged opposition
Chavez can still pull large low-income families. varian movement: Deep government won on Sun- voters. Some were moved
numbers of voters to the But the turnout for Maduro fractures remain within the day. to sites in rough neighbor-
polls. allies suggests that despite opposition camp; emigra- Designed as a bedroom hoods where groups of
If the data from the gov- the president’s low approv- tion by Venezuelans fed community for working- armed, pro-government ci-
ernment-friendly National al ratings, crippling infla- up with life under Maduro and middle-class families, vilians were visibly present.
Electoral Council is correct, tion and shortages of basic continues; and low crude the city is known as the ori- “There were some people
the opposition received goods, many Venezuelans prices are forecast to rise in gin of violent 1989 protests who were driven enough
nearly 3 million fewer votes would still rather cast their 2018, which could ease the known as the “Caracazo,” to change the political situ-
than in 2015, while the rul- ballot for the socialists than fiscal crisis for this heavily which spilled into the capi- ation that they risked their
ing party largely main- for the opposition. oil-dependent state. tal, left more than 300 peo- lives,” said Yoger Mendez,
tained the more than 5 mil- “’Chavismo’ is still alive,” “This election marks a Boli- ple dead and destabilized who volunteered at one of
lion votes it captured two said David Smilde, a Tulane varian rebirth,” said a trium- the government. the relocated centers. “But
years ago. University professor and ex- phant Delcy Rodriguez, a After long voting reliably others did not.”q