The Maduro regime in Venezuela seems to have ended. A massive effort to get out the vote and elect the opposition leader took place, and exit polls show that Maduro lost.
That’s incredible news if true.
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Good news, now can we kick out all the Venezuelans making a mess in New York City? There’s so many of them that they’ve filled up homeless shelters and hotels have to take up the overflow, plus some of them squat in people’s houses and get dumped in upstate New York
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Amazing if true. Holy crap, this would be huge for Venezuela.
The cynic in me says there is no way Maduro just “leaves.” Maybe he saw the writing on the wall or something.
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And a huge blow for Putin.
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One thing that blows my mind about countries like Cuba and Venezuela, you have the most dynamic, vibrant, largest, and open economy on the planet nearby and you choose to go with some minion wanna-be empire half way across the world. Venezuela was not in great shape before Chavez, but being aligned with the US they were not starving and were relatively prosperous. All that gone now. It’s going to take decades if not generations for Venezuela to get back to pre-Chavez prosperity.
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Totally. Cuba and Venezuela managed themselves into a terrible hole.
I met a colleague from Cuba last month and he told me he keeps hearing stories about Cuban boys sent to fight on Russia’s side in Ukraine. He says many of them are tricked. Some have gone missing and the families are bereft. Why, why does Cuba need this problem on top of everything else?
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Kind of amazing that they had actual elections! I hope it goes well!
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It looks like creative ballot counting has began. I’m starting to fear we’ll wake up tomorrow to discover Maduro won 146% of the vote.
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Yeah, this is what I’m afraid of.
However, if the count really is something like Opposition 60%, Maduro 30%, that is a very wide gap to overcome, even with corruption.
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oof!
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Sorry, folks, I jumped the gun:
https://x.com/visegrad24/status/1817758916547145829?t=LwpdPFhlahDk2lPgjyh9wA&s=19
I just really, really wanted to believe Venezuela would finally be free.
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Looks like Peru and Chile are refusing to recognize the election. I wonder if that means anything or is just a gesture at this point.
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Even fellow leftists are fed up with Maduro’s tricks. I was so hopeful he was finally gone but he’s clinging to power. And it’s dumb because he could leave now and finish out his days peacefully in exile. But he’ll hold out until his compatriots get really rabid and murder him.
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Unless you live in places like Switzerland, Scandinavia or the UK (though I don’t know for how long), in an election ALL that matters is who counts the votes.
The US has been a dysfunctional democracy for quite some time, with an unreliable voting system bordering on the laughable when compared to mature, functioning democracies: come November 2024, I wouldn’t be too sure about the outcome.
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“If true.” Famous last words.
I’m so sorry for the people of Venezuela. I have no doubt that the vote was rigged.
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There are massive protests now but Maduro has battalions of armed goons. I’m not optimistic.
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