Elections in Venezuela

By Daniel Hellinger,
Webster University, St. Louis

The elections in Venezuela bring a mixture of good and bad news for the development of “protagonistic democracy,” as President Hugo Chávez call the new system instituted by the Bolivarian Constitution of 1999.
On the one hand, the elections were conducted in a transparent way and reaffirm the legitimacy of the government. The low turnout must be put in the context and in no way reflects a rejection of the Bolivarian Revolution. However, President Chávez himself has set a higher standard for democracy than merely ensuring that elections are transparent.

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