Venezuelan Opposition Sweeps Election
Tuesday, December 8th, 2015December 8, 2015
In a legislative election held Dec. 6, 2015, the opposition coalition known as Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (Democratic Unity Roundtable, or MUD) won control of Venezuela’s National Assembly. It was the first time in 16 years that the United Social Party of Venezuela (PSUV) had lost control of the country’s legislature. The opposition won at least 99 of the 167 seats in the Assembly, with 22 seats still undeclared on the day after the election. It claimed it had won a two-thirds majority or “supermajority,” which would give it certain powers that a smaller majority would not. The election took place part way through Socialist President Nicolás Maduro’s term in office. Maduro publicly accepted his party’s legislative defeat. A new presidential election was not expected until 2019, but the opposition’s victory raised the possibility of a public referendum on Maduro’s rule.
The MUD coalition was formed in 2008 to oppose Venezuela’s Socialist government. The Socialists, led first by President Hugo Chávez, then later by Maduro, had controlled Venezuela’s government since 1998. During their time in government, the Socialists have sought to implement a Socialist “Bolivarian Revolution,” named for the South American revolutionary Simón Bolívar. They have used profits from Venezuelan oil to help the poor, but critics have also observed the development of a kind of leftist dictatorship. Several times during the early 2000′s, the National Assembly gave Chávez and Maduro power to rule Venezuela by decree for long periods. The government has placed important industries under state control and arrested and imprisoned prominent opposition leaders.
At the time of the 2015 election, Venezuela was experiencing a form of economic crisis. Venezuelans were suffering from shortages of basic foods and of medicines, high inflation and unemployment, and a shrinking gross domestic product—that is, the value of goods and services produced in a country in a given period. President Maduro blamed such problems on an “economic war” waged by his opponents both in and outside of Venezuela. The price of oil, Venezuela’s top export, also had fallen significantly.
In such an economic climate, nearly 75 percent of Venezuelans turned out to vote, suggesting they might be ready for a change. Whether such change will occur soon remains to be seen. In 2010, Chávez’s opponents won enough Assembly seats to influence legislation. But shortly after that election, the outgoing Assembly gave Chávez the power to rule by decree. The new Assembly is expected to be installed in January 2016.
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