Venezuela Opposition Win Legislative Majority

[C130]

Venezuela opposition wins majority in legislature - Al Jazeera English


Venezuela's opposition won control of the state legislature, electoral authorities said, in a blow to the oil-rich
country's socialist government that has held the congress for 16 years.

The broad, mostly centre-right MUD coalition won a majority of 99 out of 167 seats in the state legislature, the head of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Tibisay Lucena, announced early on Monday.

Socialist President Nicolas Maduro promptly appeared on television saying he accepted the defeat, a blow to his leadership during a dire economic crisis.

"We have come with our morals and our ethics to recognise these adverse results, to accept them and to say to our Venezuela that the constitution and democracy have triumphed," he said.


Al Jazeera's Lucia Newman, reporting from Caracas, said the defeat was a stinging blow to the government.

"This is even more than the opposition had hoped for. It's one of the strongest blows to the socialist revolution in the 17 years since it's been in power."

Fireworks erupted over the capital Caracas as opposition supporters celebrated.

Maduro's United Socialist Party of Venezuela won 46 seats in the single-chamber National Assembly, Lucena said. The results for 22 other seats had not yet been confirmed.

The result strengthens the opposition's hand against Maduro though it was short of the super majority the MUD had hoped for.

"Venezuela has won," tweeted senior opposition leader Henrique Capriles. "We always said this was the way: humility, maturity and serenity."

IN PICTURES: Venezuela opposition celebrates poll victory

Maduro called for the opposition to "live together" with his side.

He softened his tone from before the elections when he had vowed to hold onto power "no matter how".

"We have lost a battle today, but the struggle to build a new society is just beginning," he said.

"A counter-revolution has triumphed, which has imposed its own way, its war," he said, in reference to what he alleges is a US-backed "economic war" against Venezuela by businesses.

Hit by falling prices for the oil exports on which it relies, the country of 30 million is in an economic crisis, with families suffering shortages of basic foods and supplies

 

[C130]

here is a scenario Maduro get's voted out of Office after a recall referedum in 2016

country is now anti socialist/communist.

U.S get's to examine all Venezuela high tech purchases of Russian arms

this is

Su-30Mk2
S-300VM
Buk-M2
S-125-2M
Tor-M1
Msta-S
Mi-35
Igla-S

 

[Jai Bharat]

The incompetent bus driver lost to a coalition of other mostly Leftist parties.

Don't get ahead of yourself @C130 . It will take at least a full decade for Venezuela relations to normalize with US.

 

[C130]

The incompetent bus driver lost to a coalition of other mostly Leftist parties.

Don't get ahead of yourself @C130 . It will take at least a full decade for Venezuela relations to normalize with US.

no way not a decade at most 5 years

U.S and China can make Venezuela prosperous.


literally wasted a windfall of oil money. they didn't make a soverign fund like Norway or emulate the Sauds and UAEs

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

oh wow is this finally the end of the Pink tide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Her Time Is Up, but Argentina’s President Is Not Going Quietly
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/07/w...rgentinas-president-is-not-going-quietly.html

 

[Jai Bharat]

no way not a decade at most 5 years

U.S and China can make Venezuela prosperous.


literally wasted a windfall of oil money. they didn't make a soverign fund like Norway or emulate the Sauds and UAEs

Even though they have a lot of oil reserves, most of it is 'heavy crude' that is more costly to extract and requires additional processing. They wasted all the previous decades on failed socialism, and now it is too late in the current market with US shale oil and all OPEC members pledging to increase production to focus on market-share rather than prices, and in an oil-glut world Venezuela is utterly irrelevant and not worth dealing with. Nothing is going to change.

 

[Solomon2]

Venezuelans in Israel 'We finally have hope'

In a historic and groundbreaking vote on Sunday, the people of Venezuela rejected the country's ruling socialist party, which has been a close friend to Iran and openly hostile to Israel for years.

Adam Evenhaim, Reuters

Published: 12.07.15
Venezuela's opposition won control of the National Assembly by a landslide, trouncing the ruling party and altering the balance of power after almost 17 years of socialist rule.


The opposition coalition won at least 99 seats in the incoming 167-seat legislature, electoral authorities announced after midnight Sunday. The ruling socialist party won 46 seats. The 19 remaining races remain up for grabs but if enough are won by the opposition it could give the coalition a two-thirds supermajority needed to strongly challenge President Nicolas Maduro's grip on power.

Opposition leadership celebrating the win (Photo: Reuters)


The streets of the Venezuelan capital of Caracas broke out in shouts of joy, fireworks and car honks after National Electoral Council President Tibisay Lucena announced the partial results six hours after polls closed.


Within seconds, Maduro recognized the opposition's win, saying that despite an adverse result Venezuela's democracy had triumphed. But he recalled the long history of US-supported coups in Latin America in blaming the "circumstantial" loss on a conservative "counter revolution" trying to sabotage the oil-dependent economy and destabilize his rule,

The vote


"I can say today that the economic war has triumphed," Maduro, surrounded by his party's top leadership, said from the presidential palace.


Venezuelans living in Israel celebrated the vote after the win was announced. Bianca Sitzer, a Venezuelan Israeli told ynet, "My family voted for the opposition party. They did so because the country is in a really bad state. They were never fans of the government, but over time things just got that much worse. It was no longer a matter of political opinion, it was life or death."

President Maduro (Photo: AFP)


"I think the vote reflects the will of the people, and even the government is starting to realize this. We need a better future, and this is not one the current government can provide," she said.


Adding that, "There is a lot of hope after the elections, like an awakening, we feel like maybe we can turn this country around and make a better tomorrow. It's going to take years and a lot of work. There are people who are committed to it, and we are hopeful."


Alan Cohen, another Venezuelan Israeli told ynet, "People or happy and hopeful, there is a feeling of euphoria. The next month will be the real test."


The opposition is likely to use its newfound leverage to pass an amnesty for dozens of opponents jailed during last year's protests. Some hardliners are vowing to seek a recall referendum to cut short Maduro's term before it ends in 2019.


But reining in Maduro, who became president after Chavez died in 2013, will be tough. Maduro's near-complete grip on other branches of government like the Supreme Court mean he can easily outflank a hostile congress. And some have already floated the idea that outgoing lawmakers can pass a law granting Maduro special decree powers to ride roughshod over the new congress, which won't be sworn in until January.

Opposition supporters in the street (Photo: AFP)


Their work will be easier if they obtain a two-thirds majority of 112 lawmakers -- still a possibility if enough of the undecided races break the opposition's way. Such a super majority would allow the congress to sack supreme court justices, pass major legislation and even convene a convention to rewrite Chavez's 1999 constitution.

Palestinian Connection

The Jewish community suffered greatly after the country's former leader Chavez rose to power. Which only intensified after the Israeli embassy in the country closed in 2008, during Operation Cast Lead. Many of the community's members fled to Spanish-speaking countries, the United States and to Israel as a result.


Emigration brought the Caracas Jewish community, which numbered 25,000 Jews in 1998, down to only 8,000. Today, Israel is home to 1,500 Venezuelan-Jews who reside mostly in Kfar Saba, Raanana, Shoham and Herzliya.

People hug in the streets after the vote (Photo: AFP)


"Chavez's reign saw a new phenomena of xenophobia and hatred to Israel," says Sheryl Camper, who made aliyah in 1993. "The hostility towards Israel had a major effect on the community, and many Jews chose to emigrate. Without the Israeli embassy, Jews felt even more vulnerable."


Chavez, a self-designated leader of the developing world, was a vocal proponent of the Palestinians' right to statehood, which he saw as part of a broader battle against colonialism and the West.


"Today, Palestine enters the heart of Venezuela," the country's current leader Nicholas Maduro declared in November when he greeted the 119 Palestinian recipients of a medical school scholarship in Venezuela, adding that the historic exchange with a key ideological ally had made him cry.


The oil-rich South American country has also been a close ally and trading partner of Iran, a mere facet of its openly hostile stance towards Israel.