DENVER, Colorado — For the first time, Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro faced a challenger to his re-election bid. In a historic turnout, Venezuelans went out to vote. Many had hopes that the opposition could push Maduro out of office after more than a quarter of Venezuela's population had left the country.
While Maduro has claimed victory, many Venezuelans and other countries are casting doubt on the election results. Not only has the country not released official election results, but reports indicate voters faced intimidation by governmental personnel at the polls. Others say voting locations were unexpectedly changed while many fear that if they did vote against the current administration, they could face persecution or punishment.
"Given the way that all of the evidence that we have seen up until now, it really looks like what has happened is that people voted for change and the government stole the election essentially," University of Denver professor and economist Francisco Rodríguez said.
Rodríguez is originally from Venezuela, a country he remembers very differently in his childhood than what it is today. At one time, Venezuela was in the top 25 richest countries in the world. Despite that, inequality still existed and led people to vote Maduro's mentor and former President Hugo Chavez into power.
This weekend's election posed the first real official threat to Maduro and his party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
"There is a lot of energy around this possibility of change and a lot of excitement," Rodríguez said. "And that’s how people voted. They voted thinking that change was possible and that they were going to bring about change. It's an emotional rollercoaster that people are going through."
Many Venezuelans who have fled to the United States held out hope that a change in administration could mean they may eventually be able to return back home.
"There are many Venezuelans who live here in Denver who are very sad today," Rodríguez said. "Some of them would tell me, 'Yes, if there is change in Venezuela if the opposition wins, we are going back. We don’t want to be far from our families anymore. It’s too long of being in foreign places. We’re not doing well, and we still have very difficult economic conditions here.'"