We continue on topic, in regard to election day in Venezuela, let's go deeper on the significance of the day, for that we are joined by international analyst Arnold August, welcome Arnold to From the South
00:00Welcome back. We continue on topic in regards to election day in Venezuela. Let's go deeper
00:15in the significance of the day. For that we are joined by international analyst Arnold August.
00:20Welcome Arnold to From the South. Thank you very much for having me once again. It's always a
00:26pleasure to have you as well. Arnold, Sunday's election come amid Venezuela's economic recovery
00:34efforts which authorities have announced that it registered 17 months of growth and also in a
00:40very peaceful context of this electoral process for Sunday's elections. All this amid sanctions,
00:46bilateral sanctions, and blockades. How do these factors stakes the Sunday's vote and how pivotal
00:52are these municipal elections for Venezuela's governance? Well, this is a very historic
00:58election. The elections took place previously for the presidency in July of last year and then the
01:07regional in May 25th of this year. This is the third and last of the cycle. But it is as important,
01:15I believe, as the other elections. In the regional elections a few months ago, the PSUV and the Grand
01:25Patriotic Poll won all of the governorships except for one. Now, in the last municipal elections in 2021,
01:34I believe, they want 63% of the candidates for mayor. And I believe that the PSUV and the GPP want to increase the number of candidates, the number of mayors that are following the position of the PSUV just because, as you say, to increase the work on the economic front. So this way, by increasing the number of candidates,
02:03of the candidates of the Chavistas that we win tonight, you will have the presidency, the vast majority of the National Assembly, almost all of the governorships, as well as, hopefully, almost all, a vast majority of the mayorships. So this, I think, is very important.
02:23And I think what is very interesting, I find, first of all, I'm not in the Caracas this time to observe, but it's the next best thing. You know why? What I'm doing is I'm following very closely the campaign and the work of Lucia Cordoba.
02:40Lucia Cordoba. She, as you know, is a well-known TV presenter and she's actively fighting to become mayor of the town of Piritu in the state of Ansonadigi.
02:56So I've been following her very closely, you know, and it's very clear what is happening, that this is a further deepening of the development of participatory, I would say, protagonistic democracy.
03:10And I can see, it's almost as if I was there watching her on TikTok and Instagram. She has some of her views, she has more than 10,000 views on TikTok and Instagram.
03:20And we see right in front of our eyes, even if I'm not there, how she is dealing directly with the people there, including the youth, and exchanging with them and listening to their views on what has to be done.
03:33So it's a very exciting period and, you know, the voting is going on for the mayors. There's two votes going on, in fact, for the mayors and the city councils, but also the projects that are being put forward by the youth.
03:49And as far as I can see there, I think there's over 30,000, 37,000 communal projects that are being voted upon today as we speak.
04:00So there are two votes going on, but they're connected. They're a very clever manner in which Chavismo is increasing the role, the protagonistic role of the people, and very important, the youth.
04:16Many of them have had the right to vote for the first time since becoming 18 years of age.
04:22So this is going on, and I think if they succeed in having the vast majority of mayors, as well as approving the projects, this will be a big step forward in the attempt of the Venezuelan government to overcome the sanctions that are still going on by the United States in order to try to cripple the economy, make the people scream, and turn the people against the government.
04:48I think this election today is going to be another nail in the coffin of that attempt of regime change in Venezuela.
04:59Arnold, this is the 33rd election held under the Bolivarian Revolution, an example of broad democracy and dependent democracy, as you were saying, and reflects the people's power to define their future.
05:09Yet we know that the narrative told by hegemonic media is completely different.
05:13How are these elections being addressed by the tradition of Western media, and why do you think that this happens?
05:21Well, as far as I can see, I've been following it.
05:24The Western media is not putting too much emphasis on these elections.
05:29They keep on repeating the same thing, the same lie that President Maduro was elected illegally in July 2024.
05:39They just repeat that, but they don't give any proof, of course.
05:44So they're basically ignoring it, I think because they know that they're going to lose.
05:49Like the opposition was weak in the last elections for mayors in 2021, and now they're even weaker.
05:58In addition to that, they are divided, which is a godsend for us because in many areas running for mayor, there are two or three opposition candidates against one PSUV candidate.
06:15So the media is basically ignoring it.
06:18We will see what they say tonight.
06:19But I think they see the writing on the wall, even though they will not admit it, that President Maduro is solidly in the leadership there.
06:29The election was definitely legal, completely credible.
06:33I witnessed it, as well as the regional elections.
06:37And so to answer your question, the media is quite quiet on the issue right now, but we'll see what happens tonight.
06:43I think that they are in a defensive position.
06:46They know that their followers, the opposition, right-wing opposition followers, they are calling for abstention.
06:53That is their only hope, to try to give the impression people are abstaining because there is no credibility.
07:00However, people will vote today, I know, and irrespective of the abstention rate, given the economic situation,
07:08the pessimism that may be seen among some people because of the ongoing sanctions and all that,
07:16irrespective of the participation, the abstention rate.
07:20I'm not sorry to cut your shirt, but Jorge Rodriguez is offering a statement right now live.
07:24We're going to go quickly to him to see what he's referring to.
