Ángel Alvarado, a senior fellow in the Department of Economics and former Venezuelan congressman, shares his thoughts on the power struggle and ongoing crisis.
Government supporters rally in defense of President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 30, 2024, two days after the disputed presidential election.
(Image: AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets to protest Sunday’s disputed presidential election after President Nicolás Maduro declared himself the winner despite the opposition party’s insistence that they have proof that their candidate, Edmundo González, was the victor.
The vote counting was fraught with irregularities across the nation, with widespread reports of voter fraud and intimidation and officials at some polling stations refusing to release their tallies. The Carter Center, a U.S.-based organization that was asked by the country to observe the vote, said in a statement that the election “did not meet international standards of electoral integrity and cannot be considered democratic.”
Venezuela was once viewed as Latin America’s most advanced economy, but under Maduro’s administration oil prices have plummeted and hyperinflation has skyrocketed, resulting in mass emigration.
What does Sunday’s election result mean for the South American nation as it tries to rebound from years of economic, social, and political crises?
To help provide perspective on the unfolding power struggle, Penn Today spoke with Ángel Alvarado, a senior fellow in the Department of Economics in the School of Arts & Sciences. Alvarado, a former congressman in Venezuela, rose from poverty to become a leading economist and expert on the region. As the economy collapsed under Maduro, Alvarado spoke out and was targeted for doing so, he says.
With the help of the At-Risk Scholars Program and Professor Jesús Fernández-Villaverde, Alvarado came to Penn in 2022. Here, he shares his thoughts on the disputed election and the ramifications for Venezuela.
Ángel Alvarado answers questions during his time as a congressman in Caracas, Venezuela. (Image: Courtesy of Ángel Alvarado)
Venezuela has only recently started to emerge from one of the largest economic collapses in modern history. What does this election mean for that recovery?
The election of a new government signifies internal and external legitimacy and access to international investment, credit, and loans for national reconstruction. Venezuela will remain at the bottom of the ocean without a legitimate government.
What are your biggest concerns right now for the nation?
Young people want more opportunities, which is the only way to stop migration and family separation. Migration is a new phenomenon in Venezuela. Nobody wants to leave, but, with Maduro in power without legitimate reason, there is no chance of the robust recovery that the country needs.
The people of Venezuela need a political solution to the crisis. They are outraged by what they perceive as a fraudulent election. The opposition’s call for peaceful protest clearly indicates their desire for change.
Venezuelans are on the streets fighting for democracy; we want the truth about the election.
Was there a good reason to believe this election would have been legitimate and that Maduro would have let the actual results be revealed?
There was a widespread hope that this election in Venezuela would be legitimate. However, the lack of transparency in reporting results, with no information available at the state, county, or electoral center level, has raised serious questions about the actual outcome.
What can the Venezuelan people do now? Does the opposition have any recourse?
Maduro controls all the state’s power, so there is no chance of finding a solution inside. We need the international community’s help, especially Brazil, Colombia, and Spain, to press Maduro for a transition to peace. We have the results of 80% of the electoral centers, and we now know Edmundo González won clearly.
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