Venezuela Goes to the Polls
Venezuela Goes to the Polls
Today Sunday 28 July people in Venezuela will vote to elect their next president with the incumbent Nicolás Maduro favourite to secure another term.
Voting is underway in Venezuela’s presidential election where left-wing president Nicolás Maduro is running for a third term against nine challengers, including right-wing candidate Edmundo González. Polls have reportedly put Maduro as slight favourite to win the election.
Facts and figures about Venezuela’s presidential election. Credit: Venezuelanalysis
Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro with supporters during an election rally. Credit: Rome Arrieche/Instagram
For rolling coverage I recommend following Venezuela based English-language independent media outlet Venezuelanalysis on Twitter/X.
A number of years ago I gave them the following endorsement:
Ever since Hugo Chávez assumed the presidency in Venezuela in 1999, the Venezuelan government has been subject to a sustained and vicious campaign of vilification by the western media class.
Often hysterical, almost always hostile, journalists have presented a heavily distorted and simplistic version of developments under the Chávez and Maduro governments.
A notable exception to journalists’ dereliction of duty on Venezuela has been Venezuelanalysis. Through their rigorous, nuanced and informed reporting, Venezuelanalysis has become the essential first port of call for anyone wanting to cut through the media war on Venezuela. Long may their journalism continue.
Venezuela is a country close to me heart. As well as having family there and visiting the country from a young age, I lived in Venezuela for nearly two years between 2005 and 2007, during what was arguably the highpoint of Chavismo. While there I had the privilege of working on The War on Democracy, a film on US imperialism in Latin America by the late, great journalist and documentary filmmaker John Pilger. As part of the filming for the documentary we spent 48 hours with then president Hugo Chávez, a truly special experience.
Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez (centre), John Pilger (far left), me (far right) and the rest of ‘The War on Democracy’ filming crew. April 2006.
You can read an interview I did with Pilger about the film here.
In 2009 I released my first documentary, Inside the Revolution: A Journey Into the Heart of Venezuela, which you can watch here. I also released Hip Hop Revolución in 2015, and in 2019, shortly after an attempted coup by opposition politician Juan Guaidó, I was interviewed by the BBC about events there - you can watch the interview below.
I’d done a number of BBC interviews about Venezuela before, but after this one I’ve never been invited back.
I also travelled to Venezuela in February 2019 to produce two 15 minute films about political developments in the country, as Guaido persisted in his western-backed regime change attempt. The films, The Other Venezuela and Venezuela: Defending the Revolution, can be watched here.
When Hugo Chávez died in 2013 I wrote an article paying tribute to him and his political legacy. You can read it here.
Earlier this year, I visited Venezuela and spent a couple of days in the country’s capital Caracas catching up with old friends and contacts, including members of the current Venezuelanalysis editorial team.
A view of Venezuela’s capital city Caracas taken from the Parque Central residential flats. April 2024. Credit: Pablo Navarrete
Venezuela, under the governments of Hugo Chávez and now Nicolás Maduro, has been subjected to a campaign of systematic US-government led sabotage and paid the price for standing up to Washington’s imperial machinations. It has never been given a fair hearing by the mainstream media, whose priorities and agendas are shamefully in sync with the US government’s. While there is disillusionment amongst Chavistas with the Maduro government and there is certainly plenty that can be criticised, the alternative to a Maduro presidency would clearly be a step back for progressive forces in Venezuela and Latin America more broadly. It is highly unlikely that programmes like women-led communes would get the support they need under a right-wing government. For reasons such as this, it’s important that Maduro wins today.
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