Venezuela's presidential election begins, Maduro leads the race

NBC "News" ^ | January 24, 2018 | by Reuters

[Oldeconomybuyer]

CARACAS - Venezuela's presidential election race was underway on Wednesday, with favorite and incumbent Nicolas Maduro signaling an "anti-Trump" platform while demoralized foes scrambled for a candidate and feared an unfair vote.

Foes say Maduro, 55, a former bus driver who succeeded Hugo Chavez in 2013, has ruined a once-prosperous oil economy, turned Venezuela into a dictatorship and skewed the election system to perpetuate power for his Socialist Party.

Officials say they are fighting a U.S.-led right-wing conspiracy determined to end socialism in Latin America, hobble Venezuela's economy, and steal its oil wealth.

"Donald Trump is not the boss of Venezuela!" thundered Maduro at a rally late on Tuesday, after the pro-government Constituent Assembly legislative superbody said the vote would be held by April 30.

Maduro's candidacy appears a formality: he says he will stand if the Socialist Party wants him, and party leaders say there is no other candidate under consideration.

The president's approval ratings have plunged during a brutal four-year recession caused by failed statist policies such as decade-old currency controls and the fall in global oil prices since 2014.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

[Red Badger]

One man, one vote, one candidate.................

[Professional]

You’d think that NBC was a media outlet under Stalin with reporting like this...

[dfwgator]

They get what they deserve.

[rbg81]

Maduro leads the race

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I really wonder how that is possible.

[AlaskaErik]

Those who vote decide nothing, those who count the vote decide everything. Joseph Stalin.

[plain talk]

They get what they deserve.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing. It is quite pathetic.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

I think there’s a Venezuelan/U.S. Media conspiracy going on. They are both saying everything is Trump’s fault.

[Buckeye McFrog]

Can’t fix stupid.

[Buckeye McFrog]

I really wonder how that is possible.

1) A whole lot of productive people who would have opposed him have fled the country by now.

2) The sheer numbers of the poor underclass there give the Socialist a huge built-in advantage.

3) The secret police terror state is very well-developed, under the tutelage of Cuban advisors. You become a political opponent at your own peril.

[Rusty0604]

The U.S. wants to hobble Venezuela’s economy... thanks for the laugh Maduro.

[Celerity]

I often wonder why the US Communists don’t just rig elections.

It surprises me everyday that Trump was elected, and “they allowed it”.

[Red Badger]

‘They’ were SOOOOO sure of themselves, Hilliary was going to win in a landslide!

HUBRIS.........................

[RaginRak]

Socialism=Stupidity=Masochism

[fieldmarshaldj]

Communist incumbents never lose elections. This pig will have to be removed via other means.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

This is an example of the great by product of the Shale/Oil/Fracking revolution going on in America and it’s only going to get better (or worse depending on your perspective). Almost all of our enemies are petro economies and so their propped up oil economies are falling apart due to falling oil prices.

Hugo Chavez just happened to die before it could kick in or he would be having the same problems. Even though Maduro gets re-elected he is still just barely holding on and has no money left to foment communist revolutions throughout central and south America like Chavez was doing.