Xavier mentioning the Venezuelan election during class piqued my interest and I wanted to find out a bit more about it. I can thoroughly recommend this podcast, it’s only about half an hour but it really concisely sets out the key players in the upcoming election and some of the background context (which was helpful because my knowledge of Venezuelan politics was non-existent).
The Venezuelan elections are a really good case study for how leaders of seemingly competitive democracies are able to manipulate the democratic processes, and this election in particular marks a key moment for either consolidating Maduro's power or providing an opportunity to strengthen democratic institutions through the election of a party other than the United Socialist Party who have held power for 25 years. There are a number of elections coming up in the Americas over the next few months, and so the Venezuelan election may provide further insight into the general trend within the region. If opposition candidate Edmundo González is successful, Venezuela will be a key case study in how to shift from authoritarianism back to a more democratic society.
No comments:
Post a Comment