Sunday, July 28, 2024 is a very important day for Venezuelan citizens. They will be casting their ballot for the next president of Venezuela. Nicolas Maduro has been in power in Venezuela for the past 11 years. This election could be a pivotal moment in the future of Venezuela.
Nicolas Maduro is up against Edmundo González Urrutia, who is a retired diplomat. For the past 25 years, Venezuela has been under socialist rule. If Edmundo González Urrutia were to be elected that would finally change. Many Venezuelan citizens look to this new candidate as the potential for a brighter future, which is why he has been doing very well in the polls so far. According to NPR, Maduro has driven Venezuela to the worst economic crisis in its history and has caused about 8 million citizens to flee the country.
Maduro is intent on winning the election and wants to stay in power. Prior to González being his main competition, María Corina Machado was the main opposition to Madsuro. That was until Maduro banned her from running for “corruption,” the details of which are unknown. He is able to do this due to how much power he holds in the government as he has been in his position for a long time. Machado has now shifted her support to González and they have been campaigning together.
González has a good chance of winning the election, but the real question lies in whether or not Maduro will accept his win in a peaceful transition of power or try to oppose it. The reason this is such a concern is because if Maduro were to lose, there is a chance he could be prosecuted. There are many allegations of crimes he has committed and if he were to no longer be president, he would be unprotected. There is still a chance that he might not be prosecuted, but this may not be a risk that Maduro is willing to take.
Right now, many reports show that the polls are looking like they are in González’s favor and that Maduro is likely to lose. According to Al Jazeera, if Maduro were not to accept this transition of power, there would likely be protests and uprisings from citizens. This would show a clear lack of democracy in Venezuela, and citizens would likely know that Maduro is trying to cover up the fact that he lost the popular vote.
The significance of this election lies in the fact that it could terminate a socialist rule that has been a part of Venezuela for the past 25 years, and it could also bring a potential for healing for all of the economic turmoil that has arisen as a result of Maduro’s rule. Even if González was not to win, the election is still a turning point in Venezuela’s political system as it shows how close the cycle is to being broken according to The Guardian. Venezuelans have witnessed and endured the corruption of the government for a long time and are now seeing the potential for a brighter future. It is up to the polls and how Maduro decides to proceed that determines the next chapter in Venezuela’s history.
Written by Sirisha Kunamneni
