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One of the lesser-known aspects of Venezuelan elections is the extensive involvement of political parties in monitoring the system. In the first piece in this series we looked at the different ways the government is nibbling around the edges to reduce its electoral...
[We have updated this post to include the rollout of Guachiman Electoral, a digital, citizen monitoring initiative.] Michael McCarthy and David Smilde In our previous post we looked at some of the vulnerabilities of Venezuela’s elections. In this post we look at the...
The government of Nicolás Maduro faces important legislative elections on December 6 with popularity below 25%. If polling trends continue the opposition should win a simple majority and perhaps even a super-majority of the National Assembly As such the government is...
The effects of jailed political prisoners Leopoldo López and Daniel Ceballos’ hunger strikes—now in their eighteenth and twentieth days respectively—continue to reverberate in opposition power centers. Their political party Popular Will (VP) is effectively redefining...
[This post has been modified from its original version. The authors requested it be changed to reflect that the study was originally commissioned by Globovisión itself.] Since the purchase of Venezuela’s news channel Globovisión by an investor group in May 2013 and...
Recent geopolitical developments in U.S.-Cuban relations and in international oil markets pose a key question for the Maduro Government. Can the Maduro government follow the lead of two strategic allies, Cuba and Saudi Arabia, and put national interests first? Or does...
With Venezuela entering the peak of its summer, August 15-September 15, politics is at a low-intensity mobilization point. But, we are most likely observing a lull in street mobilization. During this period of relative calm, a great deal of maneuvering is taking place...
The US Congress is considering targeted sanctions against Venezuelan government officials for their handling of the country’s political unrest. On Wednesday I published a piece in World Politics Review arguing that this measure would be counterproductive. Sanctions...
Leopoldo López’s #lasalida campaign has changed the game in Venezuelan politics by opening a window for sectors strongly opposed to the Maduro government to take their politics to the street. What implications does this street-based strategy hold for the “opposition”...
On April 1 the party hierarchy of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) quickly pushed back against a “critical open letter to President Maduro” from Chavista intellectual and media figure Nicmer Evans. Evans’s letter suggested that Nicolas Maduro’s candidacy...