Venezuela: opposition wins a historic victory over lands of Hugo Chavez

Unknown or almost a few weeks ago, the opponent Sergio Garrido, elected regional, won a comfortable victory, collecting 55.36% of the vote, compared to 41.27% for Jorge Arreaza, the candidate of power.

Le Monde with AFP

Decades of Family Hair Chavez on the state governor of the Barinas State ended Sunday, January 9th. The Venezuelan opposition has won a historic victory during the election for this post held since 1998 by the family of the former Venezuelan President in that strategic state, at the end of a ballot who saw the power do everything to tear off the Victory, after a first election canceled by justice in November 2021.

Unknown or almost a few weeks ago, the opponent Sergio Garrido, elected regional, had replaced at the foot raised the opposition candidate, Freddy Superlano, who was at the top of the vote when the justice had canceled the vote and the ‘had declared ineligible. Depending on the evenings announced in the evening by the National Electoral Council, Sergio Garrido won a comfortable victory, collecting 55.36% of the vote, compared to 41.27% for Jorge Arreaza, the power candidate.

The Chavez Dynasty started with the father of the President, Hugo de los Reyes Chavez (1998-2008) and had continued with his ADAN brothers (2008-2016) and Argenis (2017-2021). “We did not succeed the goal” to win, wrote Sunday Evening Mr. Arreaza, former son-in-law of Chavez, on his Twitter account, even before the announcement of the results. Former Vice President of Venezuela and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jorge Arreaza, heavyweight of Chavism, had been parachuted in that western state of the country to replace the outgoing Governor Argenis Chavez, who had given up to represent himself after the First ballot.

divided opposition

“The noble people of Barinas won the victory,” said he was glad on Twitter Sergio Garrido, propelled governor. “With the union and strength of all of you, we have succeeded … managed to overcome obstacles and adversities despite all we had to face.” Divided during the November 21 elections, the opposition had suffered At the national level, a scathing defeat in the face of power, which had won 19 of the 23 states and the town hall of Caracas.

In addition to the symbolic aspect of the victory against Chavez, the opposition wins a key region for President Nicolas Maduro, successor of Chavez, with his agricultural plains, his petroleum reserves and his location close to the Colombian border where Several guerrillas and narcotal. During the campaign, Garrido had criticized “misappropriation” of the resources of the state to promote the candidate of power. And Sunday, he denounced the “unjustified” arrest of two activists in Barrancas.

The France-Presse agency could not confirm these arrests. The ballot was supervised by a significant security system, with some 25,000 police officers of which 15,000 military. In November, while the results were published for the other states, those of the Barinas had been delayed for days, then finally suspended, while, after the counting of 90% of the newsletters, Freddy Superlanan led with 37.60% of the votes , against 37.21% for Argenis Chavez. The opposition had denounced a “bidouillage”.

The Venezuelan power has mobilized its electoral machine for the new ballot and sent ministers and senior officials in the area to beat the pavement alongside Mr. Arreaza. Barinas is, as the rest of the country, entangled in an economic crisis that has dropped GDP per capita from this oil producing country to the level of Haiti. Before the ballot, the director of the Delphos Institute, Felix Seijas, felt that “the Government ISP [SAI] t all that he p [Ouvai] t to win the Barinas” while the opposition wants to organize a referendum for Attempt to dismiss the president, Nicolas Maduro. The opposition could attempt to take advantage of this shine to launch a campaign for the referendum.

/Media reports.