Venezuela’s extremist opposition boycotted elections to sustain its gravy train of US $. Having handed victory to the governing PSUV, they made turnout the focus. They worked to suppress the vote, emphasizing “abstentions” as a measure of the govt’s illegitimacy. Turnout was 32%.

From my POV, the turnout rate disappointed the govt, which was hoping for 40% - above the Chavista baseline. But opposition pollsters had predicted 15%, and Guaido’s US-backed mafia did all it could to suppress the vote, even exploiting Covid to urge citizens to stay home.

The US-backed opposition consistently claimed Venezuela’s election authority (CNE) would fix the election. Then why didn’t it engineer a higher turnout rate to shatter their narrative? They have no answer, just as they’ve never produced evidence to back up past claims of fraud.

The State Dept worked to suppress Venezuela’s vote, sanctioning mainstream opposition candidates for participating in the election, including an ex-Guaido ally. These candidates campaigned on removing Maduro, privatization, etc - but also rejected Guaido & the US economic war.

The US economic war has deliberately created fuel shortages, which limited the ability of many to travel to polling places & increased despair, especially in rural areas. Then there’s the pandemic, which has lowered voter turnout in elections around the world (see Romania).

Turnout has dipped below 40% in several recent US midterm elections. They took place without prolonged economic sabotage by a foreign power, opposition boycotts, or the sanctioning of politicians. But low turnout was not framed as a referendum on the legitimacy of the president.

Based on the way the US and its apprentices worked to delegitimize Venezuela’s election and democratic institutions like the CNE, it’s clear to me Washington aims to push the country toward civil war, or at least into a spiraling social catastrophe. They have failed again.

The election results formally dispensed of Guaido as an opposition leader. A moderate opposition not attached to Washington is emerging. And the resurgence of the left on the continent has given Venezuela new maneuvering room. In the meantime, the US hybrid war continues.