Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

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Venezuela: More election fraud

Yesterday Venezuela held elections for its 23 state governors, and as usual, amidst more fraud. Of course, Maduro’s party, the PSUV, won.

Clueless NPR was surprised.

Mary O’Grady writes on Venezuela’s Latest Election Fraud. Maduro allowed the phony balloting only to preserve the illusion of democracy.

Sunday’s exercise in the Cuba-backed dictatorship was a sham.

Maduro had other motives as well. He wants to lull Venezuelans into the false sense that a transition away from communism is possible at the ballot box. That illusion has so far held back rebellion.

He also seeks to legitimize his illegal “constituent assembly,” elected on July 30—from an unchallenged list of candidates—to replace the Legislature and rewrite the constitution. He said voting Sunday was an endorsement of the new assembly and any opposition governor who will not swear allegiance to it will be removed.

The fraud was under way long before the first vote was cast. The dictatorship announced the election only a month in advance. Candidates rushed to submit their names under a five-day deadline. Later the regime decided to hold a day of primaries. But when antigovernment candidates who lost the primaries asked to withdraw and throw their support to the primary winners, the regime refused to take their names off the ballot.

And then polling stations were relocated.

Caracas Chronicles looks Down the Sketchy Election Fraud Road, Again.

Daniel Duquenal calls it A grotesque electoral fraud. As one of his commenters said, “Dictatorships don’t leave with votes.”

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Argentina: Cristina runs for Senate

Anything to get immunity:

Cristina Kirchner Files Candidacy Papers for Argentina’s Senate. Senate race would be seen as a referendum on ex-president’s populist legacy and her successor’s market-friendly policies

Former President Cristina Kirchner filed papers on Saturday to run for Argentina’s Senate, launching a campaign that could, if elected, give her congressional immunity from federal prosecution for alleged money laundering and racketeering during her presidency.

About those three separate federal cases that she’s already been indicted,

In one case, a judge ruled that Mrs. Kirchner ran a criminal “gang” aimed at profiting from the illegal disbursal of government funds for infrastructure projects. In another case, she was indicted over accusations she ordered Argentina’s central bank to illegally trade derivatives, costing the country about $5.5 billion.

But wait! There’s more:

If Mrs. Kirchner wins in October, she would be eligible to run for the presidency again in 2019, when Mr. Macri finishes his first four-year term.

One can only hope there are not enough stupid people to vote for her. She only needs 25% or so to get a Senate seat, according to the above article.

UPDATE
Trending at Bad Blue.

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Ecuador: Media fined for not carrying article

Four newspapers and three TV stations were fined US$3,750 each for not carrying a story on presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso.

Ecuador fines media for not publishing a story

Ecuador has fined seven media companies for not publishing a story that it deemed of public interest.

The state’s media watchdog said the press had a duty to cover a story about the supposed offshore dealings of opposition politician and recent presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso.

The investigation was published in an Argentine newspaper in March.

The watchdog and the media companies have accused each other of censorship. Appeals are under way.

The ruling was made against newspapers El Comercio, La Hora, Expreso and El Universo, and television channels Televicentro, Teleamazonas and Ecuavisa.
. . .

The report, “Lasso: the offshore tycoon”, was first published by Argentina’s left-wing Pagina 12 newspaper, and was picked up by various other Ecuadorean news outlets ahead of the country’s election on 2 April.

The Committee to Protect Journalists asserts that “No government anywhere, including in Ecuador, has any business telling the news media what to cover,” and reports,

In defending its actions before Supercom, lawyers for El Comercio argued that the original Página/12 story was poorly reported, failed to include a response from Lasso, and that publishing the unverified allegations would have violated an Ecuadoran law barring media from promoting or denigrating candidates immediately before elections.

Freedom House has rated Ecuador’s press status as “not free.”

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Ecuador: Partial recount results predictable

Predictably,

Following a recount of almost 1.3 million votes in Ecuador, the electoral council has confirmed left-wing candidate Lenín Moreno as the winner of the presidential poll held on 2 April.

The recount slightly boosted Mr Moreno’s margin over his conservative rival, Guillermo Lasso.

Mr Lasso had demanded a full recount citing allegations of fraud but the national electoral council only agreed to a recount of 10% of the votes.

Cue Capt. Louis,

Where’s the OAS?

But monitors from the Organization of American States said they considered “a recount of this magnitude and under these norms to be an exercise in transparency”.

More like an exercise in futility.

UPDATE:
Linked to by Silvio Canto. Thank you!



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Ecuador: Demonstrations on the street while Correa says left’s on the mend

The glass is half-full, and half-empty:

Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa Sees Latin America’s Left on the Mend. ‘There are going to be a lot more triumphs for the left,’ departing leader says after his preferred candidate’s victory

President Rafael Correa has watched one after another of his leftist Latin American allies get impeached, beaten at the polls or excoriated as antidemocratic, as his own government faced growing disenchantment amid an economic downturn.

This week, he hailed a reversal in that trend as Ecuadoreans elected his preferred successor, former Vice President Lenin Moreno, in a tight race against a conservative rival. The outcome, he said, highlighted the left’s resilience at a moment when analysts see the region’s politics moving to the right.

“I think it marks an end to that change,” Mr. Correa said in an interview late Wednesday at the presidential palace. “We’ve won in very adverse conditions.”

while the demonstrators take to the streets and twitter,

“The people of Ecuador will NOT be fooled. We want democracy and freedom for all Ecuadorians asking for #RecountNOW”

The CNE says the results are “official and irreversible.”

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Today’s Capt. Louis Renault moment:

Ecuador National Electoral Council Says Vote Results Are Irreversible. Council says Lenin Moreno got 51.2% of the votes, with 48.8% for Guillermo Lasso, with almost all ballots counted

As you may recall, on election day early results showed Lasso ahead, them the CNE website went down, and when it went back up Moreno was declared the winner.

Now the CNE says the results are “official and irreversible.”

Cue Cpt. Louis,

Lasso is holding a press conference right now,

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