Remember, Venezuela’s elections were carried out using Dominion machines... so how many people voted for whom, and whether their ballots were counted as cast or as “found” is as debatable there as the 2020 election was here.
He and his party only needed to get elected the first time. He then manipulated the constitution to make reelection easier and easier against the will of the voters. If he had much support he would not have needed to make changes to the country’s constitution and courts, and would not have needed to replace law enforcement officials with imported Cubans.
Nah - don’t give them that out. He was clearly adored by the masses of Venezuelan peasantry and urban poor. The middle class and wealthy despised the guy, but they aren’t/weren’t the majority in that country.