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After 22 years of Chavista administrations and in the midst of the worst crisis in its recent history, there are still loyal followers of the ruling Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), who are campaigning for the ruling party for the elections of governors and mayors on the 21st of November in Venezuela.
It is a faithful vote that, they explain, seeks to maintain the legacy of the late former president Hugo Chávez, father of the so-called Bolivarian Revolution, and the social programs that they claim would be under threat if the opposition comes to power.
“They would come for our heads … missions are over, pensions are over, Claps are over, all that is over,” Iraida Gaela, a resident of Maracay, Aragua, in the center of the country, told France 24.
A faithful follower of Chavismo, Iraida has been out in her neighborhood in recent days to convince her neighbors to go out and vote. He keeps a detailed record of the “hard” votes he has for these elections, in which the polls give Chavismo the winner in all scenarios.
Venezuela is going through its eighth year in recession and fourth in hyperinflation, amid the greatest crisis in the modern history of the former oil power, which has dissolved the purchasing power of the ordinary citizen.
Aragua, for example, his home state, has been ruled by Chavismo for 22 years, and today citizens suffer constant blackouts, shortages of gasoline and domestic gas. Even in these circumstances, the opposition is not an option for this Chavista.
“We have a government that helps us through the national card and we get bonuses, aid that compensates for that little money that comes in through salary,” justifies Iraida, convinced.
The European Union monitors elections for the first time in 15 years
The same happens in Catia, an official stronghold in Caracas. Lilian Francia clings to a photo of the late former president Hugo Chávez, as one who venerates a saint. He has one in black and white of when the former socialist president finished his military career and others, already in the field.
Lilian acknowledges failures of the Government, but excuses it.
“There are flaws in the government, but right now we have the man who chose Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, who is Nicolás Maduro and chose him so that he was the one to take this helm and it has not been easy,” he says.
In the sun and shade, he walks the streets, knocks on doors… he offers assistance with transfers for Election Day. He does not falter in his eagerness to achieve the triumph of his mayoral candidate, who has promised economic progress.
“That will be a party, we all have to go out to vote,” he exclaims following the official speech. President Nicolás Maduro, without any type of risk to his power in this election, promises that: “a great party.”
The regionals will be accompanied by a mission from the European Union, which has access to the country for the first time in 15 years.
They also mark the return of the main opposition parties to the electoral route, after three years calling for abstention.
According to polls, between 76 and 80% of Venezuelans want a political change in the country, but the low confidence in the vote and these divisions among opposition leaders reduce the chances of victory in any election.
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