Venezuela Election: Will Maduro Fall? Henri Falcon and the Case Against Abstention
(photo credit goes to Deutsche Welle)
Venezuela is having a Presidential election on May 20th. The election pits the unpopular President Maduro against opposition leader Henri Falcon and longshot evangelical pastor Javier Bertucci. Polls on the race have been mixed and all over the place, none showing Bertucci having a chance of winning, however generally showing a stark difference between the vote margins of Maduro and Falcon. Some polls have Falcon obliterating Maduro, while others show the exact opposite.
In addition to the lack of trustworthy polling on the race, international observers widely expect the election to be rigged. Many recent elections within Venezuela have been riddled with irregularities and allegations that Maduro and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela rigged the results. The main center-left MUD (Democratic Unity Roundtable) opposition coalition was completely barred from the Presidential race after abstaining from municipal elections they perceived would be rigged. The UN Human Rights Council stated the elections will not be free nor credible and many governments have condemned Maduro's actions to ban specific opposition parties.
(source Wikipedia)
Henri Falcon is a former Governor and military officer in Venezuela, and he left the United Socialist Party of Venezuela in 2010. He now leads the center-left Progressive Advance Party and is the only viable opposition to Maduro. He has criticized the lack of open expression within Venezuela, has called the current governmental model of the country "finished," and wants to shift many powers within Venezuela out of the hands of the national government to the states. Despite his opposition to the government of Venezuela, he stands against the actions of the international community to impose sanctions on Venezuela.
(photo credit: The Times)
In March Falcon wrote an op-ed called "Why I Am Running for President of Venezuela." Within this article, he makes the case against abstention many opposition leaders are calling for in Venezuela and the case for voting and having your voice heard despite the chances the election may be stolen. This was written largely to convince Venezuelans and opposition supporters away from abstaining as the MUD coalition called for and to instead vote for him as a way to protest against Maduro. Within the article he states "opposition boycotts almost never work" and that 96% of the time movements supporting boycotts do not see positive results. Rather than allowing Maduro and the atrocities he has committed to go unopposed in the election, Falcon argues it is much better to work hard and do everything possible to defeat the regime in the election.
Is Falcon right by running in an election that will likely be rigged against him regardless of the result?
Does Maduro have any chance of losing?
Please let me know your opinion in the comments!
(Source https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/06/opinion/henri-falcon-president-venezuela.html)