Nearly four months ago I said, at the end of this blog post, that Venezuela’s parliamentary elections would be held in December. The head of Venezuela’s electoral authority, the CNE, announced a few days ago that elections would be held on December 6. Nick Miroff reported the CNE’s announcement as a victory for jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez and – you might have guessed it – for US foreign policy.
Let’s think this one through.
Has the Maduro government or the CNE, ever said or even hinted that the parliamentary elections would not be held by the end of the year?
No. Quite the contrary. That is why I was able to say, about four months ago, that the elections would be held in December.
Has a Venezuelan election ever been cancelled in the Chavista era (post 1999)?
No. In fact, a recall a referendum was forced on Chavez in 2004 by an opposition signature drive -a process introduced in the constitution that was ratified by popular vote, with Chavez’ support, shortly after Chavez was elected.
Has the government ever been trailing in the polls or facing major economic difficulties before an election in the Chavista era?
Yes. Pollsters claimed Chavez was trailing badly with only two months to go before the 2004 recall referendum – obviously a much higher stakes vote than the upcoming parliamentary elections. The country was also coming out of the deepest recession in decades – one that was the result of an opposition-led coup and subsequent sabotage of the oil industry.
Opposition aligned pollsters also had Maduro trailing a few months before the 2013 municipal elections which the government won.
So why, contrary to verifiable facts and basic logic, does Miroff depict the CNE’s announcement as the fruit of the noble struggles of Leopoldo Lopez and US government?
The main reason is that nobody with a significant platform in the corporate press will ridicule him for his lousy reporting. International reporters and editors will either share Miroff’s political bias, or, if they don’t, hold their tongues about it.
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