Venezuela’s opposition has dealt an embarrassing blow to Nicolás Maduro’s ruling socialists by winning an election in a state where the former president Hugo Chávez gave birth to and nurtured his Bolivarian revolution.
Opposition candidate Sergio Garrido easily won the state gubernatorial race in Barinas, taking 55.4% of Sunday’s ballot compared with 41.3% for government candidate Jorge Arreaza.
“The whole of Venezuela is watching Barinas. The whole world is watching Barinas and we made it! ” said Garrido in a victory speech. “Barinas won! Venezuela won! ”
The result means that for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century, Barinas will not be dominated by a Chávez.
Hugo Chávez’s father was governor of the state for nine years from 1999 before Hugo’s brother Adán came to power, running Barinas for another nine years. Since 2017, Argenis Chávez has taken the helm, ensuring the canton remains a family fief.
A one-time election is conducted by a Disputes in regional elections in November, when Maduro’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won 19 of the 23 state governorships nationwide for three of the opposition.
The contest in Barinas, the other state, was too close to call, although partial results showed the opposition won.
But then Venezuela’s Supreme Court, home to many of Maduro’s supporters, said the original opposition candidate, Freddy Superlano, had been barred from public office, arguing he might face with “administrative and criminal proceedings”. It ordered the rerun of the Barinas election.
For the opposition, this is proof that Maduro’s socialists will stop at nothing to uphold Chavez’s iconic hometown status.
The opposition turned to Garrido, a 54-year-old local politician, as a candidate. He reinforced his forces against Arreaza, a former foreign minister and PSUV colonel.
The results demonstrate to those in the opposition that they should stand in the elections, even if they lean in favor of the PSUV.
Phil Gunson, a Venezuela analyst at the International Crisis Group, a think tank, describes Garrido’s win as “a push to those in the opposition to support a strategy that includes electoral participation.”
For years, the opposition has been divided over whether to participate in Venezuela’s votes or boycott them.
Leader of Venezuela’s US-backed opposition, Juan Guaidó, celebrates his “heroic victory”, although he has frequently supported abstaining from voting and not participating in the November elections.
“Where it begins, it ends,” he wrote on Twitter, showing that, beginning in Barinas in the late 20th century, Venezuela’s socialist experiment is now over. His celebratory display caused some ridicule on social media, however, from those who pointed out the contradiction in his views.
Arreaza accepted his defeat, saying that the Maduro government would continue to “protect” the people of Barinas.
After failing in previous regional elections, the government often looks for ways to remove the winning candidate and stay in power.
