MB Civic

tho it was close ..

Capriles is demanding an audit of 100% of all votes; Maduro has apparently agreed. But the audit is unlikely to change the outcome. Unlike in the United States, where in a close election we really don’t know who won, the Venezuelan system is very secure.[] Jimmy Carter called Venezuela’s electoral system “the best in the world.” .. There were major improvements in Venezuelans’ living standards during the Chávez years. After the government got control over the national oil industry, poverty was reduced by half and extreme poverty by about 70%. Real income per person grew by about 2.5% annually from 2004 to 2012, and inequality fell sharply. Unemployment was 8% in 2012, as opposed to 14.5% when Chávez took office. These numbers are not in dispute among economists or other experts, nor among international agencies such as the World Bank, IMF or UN. But they are rarely reported in the major western media .. But the new government does face serious challenges, and the closeness of this election should be a wake-up call

expect a recall election next year, and the year after that, and the year after that – also, too, US-gov’t-backed coup attempts .. read more