Read James Petras excellent analysis of the political and economic implications of the PSUV victory on November 23rd.
Victory for Venezuela’s Socialists in Crucial Elections – November 2008
James Petras*. Axis of Logic
Results of Venezuela's regional elections last Sunday have been published in abundance and in various forms on the internet. Therefore, at first glance, this report may seem to be redundant. However, often writers and publishers assume knowledge of Venezuela's geography, government structures, political parties and terminology which many readers may not possess. Results reported often vary, depending on a number of different factors which are explained below. Also, some election results have been reported before the National Election Council, hereafter referred to as the CNE, generated its final report.
Venezuelan States
There is some confusion among readers (and some writers) about the number of Venezuelan states reported in the election results. One often reads of 22, 23 or 24 states in various publications of election results. Often writers exclude Amazonia because voting does not take place in this state. Also, some do not include the Capital District of Caracas. The National Election Council (CNE) however, includes the Capital District as a state. Inclusion of Amazonia and the Capital District results in 24 states in Venezuela. The states are as follows: Amazonas, Anzoategui, Apure, Aragua, Barinas, Bolivar, Capital District of Caracas, Carabobo, Cojedes, Delta Amacuro, Falcon, Guarico, Lara, Merida, Miranda, Monagas, Nueva Esparta (i.e. Isla Margarita), Portuguesa, Sucre, Tachira, Trujillo, Vargas, Yaracuy and Zulia all of which appear on the map below.
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Map of Venezuelan 24 states. Zulia and Tachira states have strategic importance as they border Colombia where smuggling and infiltration by Colombian paramilitaries are commonplace. Opposition governors won in both states. The territory with red, diagonal lines is Guayana Esequiba. Often in Venezuela-generated maps, this area is labeled "Zona en Reclamacion". Spain tried to lay claim on this territory in 1788. Throughout most of the 19th century, Britain and Venezuela argued over this land when Britain called it "British Guayana. Guayana won independence in 1966. Since 1840 and continuing, Venezuela has claimed all of Guayana west of the Essequibo River — 62% of Guayana's territory. Guayana is rich in minerals including diamonds and gold. (map is provided by the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington.) |
Gubanatorial Elections
This report of governors elected to office excludes Amazonas and includes the Capital District of Caracas on the list of states; thus 23 states are reported. In the 2008 regional elections yesterday, President Chavez' United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won 17 out of 23 state governorships and opposition parties won 5. Members of varous opposition parties voted for governors who won 4 states and the important mayoral post of the Capital District of Caracas. PSUV won 74% of the governorships and various opposition parties won 26%. Prior to the election, the opposition controlled 5 states and they control 5 states today because of gains made by the PSUV.
The table below is taken directly from the final report of the CNE. It is included in this report for several reasons. The first is to provide specific data for which some readers may have interest. It also give the reader an idea of how detailed the CNE counts and reports the votes. If one goes to the source of this and other tables on the CNE website, he/she will see even far greater detail regarding each candidate and the numbers of votes he or she received from each political party. This excerpted table shows the 3 leading candidates receiving the most votes for governor in their respective states. It is rare for any country to make election details like this so easily available to the public on the internet. This level of detail also provides a basis for the candidates and voters to verify the CNE's count and report of the vote. This is especially important in light of the oft repeated accusation that Venezuela's electoral system is flawed and claims of fraud by the capitalist media. The 23 states and Capital District of Caracas are included in this table. We have identified opposition winners with an asterisk behind their name. All other winners are PSUV governors.
DISTRITO: METROPOLITANO DE CARACAS
| ANTONIO LEDEZMA* | 722.488 Votos | 52,41 % |
| ARISTOBULO IZTURIZ | 619.598 Votos |
44,95 % |
| AUGUSTO URIBE | 27.278 Votos | 1,97 % |
ESTADO: ANZOATEGUI
| TAREK WILLIANS SAAB | 228.814 Votos | 55,09 % |
| GUSTAVO MARCANO | 228.814 Votos |
40,49 % |
| BENJAMIN RAUSSEO | 18.879 Votos | 3,34 % |
ESTADO: AMAZONAS
(Not available for these elections)
ESTADO: APURE
| JESUS AGUILARTE | 89.724 Votos | 56,98 % |
| MIRIAM DE MONTILLA | 41.565 Votos |
26,39 % |
| RAFAEL ROJAS | 10.809 Votos | 6,86 % |
ESTADO: ARAGUA
| RAFAEL ISEA | 382.845 Votos | 58,92 % |
| HENRY ROSALES | 258.684 Votos |
39,81 % |
| ZAPATA LUIS | 4.245 Votos | 0,65 % |
ESTADO: BARINAS
| ADAN COROMOTO CHAVEZ | 148.280 Votos | 50,48 % |
| JULIO CESAR REYES | 129.111 Votos |
43,95 % |
| RAFAEL S JIMENEZ | 14.505 Votos | 4,93 % |
ESTADO: BOLIVAR
| FRANCISCO RANGEL GOMEZ | 203.134 Votos | 47,03 % |
| ANDRES VELASQUEZ | 132.990 Votos |
30,79 % |
| ANTONIO ROJAS SUAREZ | 64.812 Votos | 15,00 % |
ESTADO: CARABOBO
| HENRIQUE SALAS FEO* | 407.520 Votos | 47,50 % |
| MARIO SILVA | 381.950 Votos |
44,52 % |
| LUIS F ACOSTA CARLEZ | 56.290 Votos | 6,56 % |
ESTADO: COJEDES
| TEODORO BOLIVAR | 68.903 Votos | 52,44 % |
| ALBERTO GALINDEZ | 52.015 Votos |
39,59 % |
| GONZALO MUJICA | 8.812 Votos | 6,70 % |
ESTADO: DELTA AMACURO
| LIZETA HERNANDEZ | 36.965 Votos | 55,80 % |
| PEDRO SANTAELLA | 16.716 Votos |
25,23 % |
| AMADO HEREDIA | 9.578 Votos | 14,45 % |
ESTADO: FALCON
| STELLA LUGO | 202.289 Votos | 55,35 % |
| GREGORIO GRATEROL | 162.285 Votos |
44,40 % |
| JHONNY TOVAR | 613 Votos | 0,16 % |
ESTADO: GUARICO
| WILLIAN LARA | 146.339 Votos | 52,39 % |
| LENNY MANUITT | 93.211 Votos |
33,37 % |
| REINALDO ARMAS | 37.440 Votos | 13,40 % |
ESTADO: LARA
| HENRI FALCON | 448.536 Votos | 73,52 % |
| PEDRO PABLO ALCANTARA | 88.948 Votos |
14,58 % |
| FREDY ANDRADE | 54.251 Votos | 8,89 % |
ESTADO: MERIDA
| MARCOS DIAZ ORELLANA | 195.873 Votos | 54,97 % |
| WILLIAMS DAVILA | 159.504 Votos |
44,76 % |
| MARIA DIAZ | 906 Votos | 0,25 % |
ESTADO: MONAGAS
| JOSE GREGORIO BRICEÑO | 204.857 Votos | 64,86 % |
| DOMINGO URBINA | 47.437 Votos |
15,02 % |
| RAMON FUENTES | 40.684 Votos | 12,88 % |
ESTADO: NUEVA ESPARTA (ISLA MARGARITA
| MOREL RODRIGUEZ* | 112.516 Votos | 57,53 % |
| WILLIAM FARIÑAS | 81.756 Votos |
41,80 % |
| NELSON SILVA | 955 Votos | 0,48 % |
ESTADO: PORTUGUESA
| WILMAR CASTRO | 175.901 Votos | 57,89 % |
| JOBITO VILLEGAS | 81.875 Votos |
26,94 % |
| BELLA PETRIZZO | 44.656 Votos | 14,69 % |
ESTADO: SUCRE
| ENRIQUE MAESTRE | 204.665 Votos | 56,51 % |
| EDUARDO MORALES GIL | 152.870 Votos |
42,21 % |
| ARMICHE PADRON | 2.110 Votos | 0,58 % |
ESTADO: TACHIRA
| CESAR PEREZ VIVAS* | 240.478 Votos | 49,46 % |
| LEONARDO SALCEDO | 233.995 Votos |
48,12 % |
| ROSA VELAZCO | 6.242 Votos | 1,28 % |
ESTADO: TRUJILLO
| HUGO CABEZAS | 170.770 Votos | 59,96 % |
| ENRIQUE CATALAN | 74.905 Votos |
26,30 % |
| OCTAVIANO MEJIA | 37.666 Votos | 13,22 % |
ESTADO: VARGAS
| JORGE GARCIA CARNEIRO | 85.937 Votos | 61,57 % |
| ROBERTO SMITH | 44.939 Votos |
32,19 % |
| CARLOS MAYORA | 3.925 Votos | 2,81 % |
ESTADO: YARACUY
| JULIO LEON | 130.659 Votos | 57,83 % |
| FILIPPO JOSE LAPI GARCIA | 65.313 Votos |
28,91 % |
| EDWARD CAPDEVIELLE | 22.534 Votos | 9,97 % |
ESTADO: ZULIA
| PABLO PEREZ* | 768.137 Votos | 53,33 % |
| GIAN CARLO DI MARTINO | 652.081 Votos |
45,27 % |
| SAADY BIJANI | 10.277 Votos | 0,71 % |
Pre-election Predictions
Typically in Venezuela, the opposition adopts a uniform pre-election prediction of their expections in upcoming elections. The results of the 2008 regional elections are in striking contrast with opposition predictions. Their predictions are developed and reinforced by opposition media, giving a platform for cries of election fraud when their expectations are not realized. Remember that no opposition candidate was willing to categorically accept the CNE results prior to this election and none of the opposition voters we interviewed during the electoral process would say they trusted the CNE. When we asked one educated businessman why he did not trust the CNE he replied, "Because I think the country is more balanced than they report". When asked his reasons for thinking so he replied, "It's just my impression".
In this election the media and members of the opposition predicted they would win 12-14 governorships among 22 states (excluding Amazonas) and the Capital District of Caracas. This prediction has been repeated over and over by members of the opposition interviewed by Axis of Logic over the last 2 months including those interviewed at election centers on November 23rd. Some of our friends among the opposition even placed wagers based on these expectations. Again, their unrealistic expectations were based on opposition media reports.
The 2007 referendum vote on constitutional reform serves as an example of the strategy of the opposition leadership who are backed by Washington. Even when the government lost its bid for constitutional reform by a very small margin, the opposition was still unwilling to accept the CNE's report on the referendum. This was due to the expecations raised by opposition leader and former presidential candidate, Manuel Rosales who assured members of the opposition that they would defeat the reform vote by no less than 60% of the vote. When we interviewed the opposition as they celebrated their victory in Plaza de Altamira in East Caracas on the night of the vote (December, 2006), they uniformily rejected the CNE report, claiming uniformly that they had really won by a margin of 60%-40% not by the margin of 1.5% as reported by the CNE.
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| This map, predicting the results of the regional elections was produced by opposition website, Venezuela Chronicles, prior to the vote, raising expectations of members of the opposition. |
On the other hand, PSUV voters we have interviewed over the past two weeks were very conservative in their expectations and would not offer predictions on this election, expressing reserve. When pressed for a prediction, one woman at PSUV headquarters in La Victoria told us that she thought the opposition would gain 5 additional states for a total of 8 governorships. As it turned out, the opposition only ended up with 4 governorships and the mayoral post for the Capital District of Caracas.
The voting process in brief
Prior to the elections the government provided information to voters in the form of printed material and electronic voting machines throughout the country where voters could become familiar with the process and actually practice on the machines. The voters we interviewed on election day, including both Chavista and opposition voters told us without exception that casting one's vote was easy and fast. The time required to cast a vote ranged from 1 to 3 minutes. In this process, voters enter a voting center, casts their ballot electronically and receives a printed ballot for verification of their vote. The voter then places the printed ballot in a secure box which is transported under guard to the National Election Center in Caracas. Before leaving the center, voters have their small finger dipped in indelible ink to show that they have already voted. The CNE counts 50% of the paper ballots from each of the 23 states for comparison with the electronic results. The CNE is made up of 5 officers, a mix of government and opposition representatives. The specificity with which CNE reports the vote and confirmation by paper ballot offers incontrovertalble evidence that the Venezuelan electoral process is honest and fair. 130 international observers monitored the 2008 regional elections.
PSUV Victories
President Chavez' political party, PSUV, soundly defeated opposition candidates in 17 among 23 states, or 74% of the governorships (including the Capital District of Caracas) in the country. 6 million Venezuelanos voted for the PSUV country-wide in a ratio of 60-40 which is consistent with past elections. PSUV won 3 states which had previously split with the government. These included the states of Sucre and Aragua which were previously held by the opposition's Podemos party and Guarico which had been held by the leftist PPT (Patria Para Todos) and tried to compete with the PSUV but failed.
Opposition inroads in wealthy states
Antonio Ledezma (opposition), of the Brave People’s Alliance in greater Caracas, won the imporant mayoral post for Greater Caracas - while Freddy Bernal (PSUV), the incumbent mayor of Liberador, the Central District of Caracas, won his post again. Bernal has been the popular mayor of Liberador since the year 2000. Ledezma defeated the only Afro-Venezuelan candidate to run for mayor of greater Caracas. On Globovision (opposition TV) last night, Ledezma delivered an aggressive speech stating that he has "differences with the president of the republic". He said "I have a message for the president of the republic", suggesting that the Chavez administration will ultimately be defeated.
Ledezma was governor of the city from 1992 to 1995 when it was an appointed office. He is known for his close ties to Carlos Andres Perez. Perez was president of Venezuela from 1974-1979 and again from 1989-1973, during the uprising of the people known as the Caracazo in which thousands of Venezuelans were killed by government forces. Perez was forced out of office by the the Caracazo and by the Venezuelan Supreme Court for theft of $250 million from state coffers. Among opposition members who have won offices in this election, Ledezma best represents the old U.S.-backed political system and perhaps one of the greatest threats to the Chavez administration. Ledezma's election to the powerful position as mayor of Caracas is eerily reminiscent of Alfredo Peña who was elected mayor in 2000 as a Chavez' ally but later turned against him. Under Peña's leadership, the Caracas police fired on opposition and Chavista crowds as he participated in the attempted coup against the Chavez government in 2002.
Henrique Capriles Radonski (opposition) defeated the incumbent governor of the state of Miranda, Diosdado Cabello. Miranda is the wealthiest state in the country. Capriles Radoski was mayor of the wealthy Caracas municipality of Baruta (in Caracas) before running for office of Miranda governor.
Pablo Perez (opposition) is the new governor of the state of Zulia. Zulia is on the Colombian border and is known for its wealth and petroleum deposits. Washington-backed opposition leaders have been pushing to break Zulia off from the rest of the country as an "autonomous state". This movement refects the ongoing CIA plan in Bolivia to sever 4 gas rich states from the country.
Margarita: As expected, the opposition also won the tourist island of Margarita (state of Nueva Esparta) which has always been an opposition stronghold.
Election of Mayors
Venezuelans also voted to elect mayors in 335 cities and towns across the country. PSUV (government) candidates won 81% of these offices or 270 our of 335. Many of these PSUV mayors hold office in the 5 states with opposition governors. The PSUV mayors promote community councils with central government funds. This means that the 5 opposition governors will not have carte blanch unless they cooperate with the central government. Likewise, in this power sharing arrangement, the mayors and central government will have to work with governors of these opposition-held states.
Political Parties
Venezuela has a multi-party system. All parties are required to be registered with the CNE prior to elections.
PSUV: The party of President Chavez is the PSUV (El Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela) or the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. In the past year, most leftist parties in Venezuela were united into one socialist party - PSUV. Primary exceptions are PCV (Partido Comunista de Venezuela - Communist Party of Venezuela) and the PPT (Patria Para Todos - Fatherland For All), both of which often vote for PSUV candidates. The PCV, for example, had a large showing in the PSUV march in La Victoria which numbered about 40,000 on November 9, 2008.
Opposition Parties
Opposition parties voting in the 2008 regional elections were 38 in number. The opposition explains their overwhelming defeat in these elections as due to a lack of unity among these parties. However, when one visits the CNE website and looks at each of the opposition candidates receiving votes, it is clear that these many political parties united around the various candidates in this election. For example, Henrique Salas Feo, opposition candidate elected governor of the State of Carabobo, received his votes from 29 different opposition political parties. Examination of other opposition candidates results reveal similar findings."
Wikipedia provides a comprehensive list of all political parties in Venezuela.
Democracy Thrives in Venezuela
The National Electoral Council (CNE) indicated that of the 17 million eligible voters, 65.45% participated - an all time record for regional elections. The government increased its vote by around 1.5 million votes compared to Dec. 2, 2007 reform referendum (+27%) and the opposition fell by about 10% according to figures given by Chavez on television this week.
The electoral process was calm, straight-forward, rapid and easy to navigate according to all reports including interviews of voters by Axis of Logic at election centers in the city of La Victoria. This level of paricipation and the gains by the opposition once again reaffirm the participatory democracy that thrives in Venezuela and should silence claims to the contrary, particularly in the western media. However, given their extreme prejudice against Bolivarian socialism, their penchant for calling President Chavez a dictator and accusations of election fraud will no doubt continue. In a late night address on November 23rd, President Chavez conceded opposition victories in populous state of Miranda and the mayorship of Caracas, stating, "Who can say that there is a dictatorship in Venezuela? Well, perhaps some will continue to say so.”
© Copyright 2008 by AxisofLogic.com
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