Hugo Chavez's hand picked successor, Nicolas Maduro, had a confident lead in the election pulls six months ago, however, that number dwindled down to a few percentage points on election day. His rival, Henrique Capriles, is demanding a recount. This reelection could split the country into two distant views. The article points out the trouble from Chavez's time as leader: stagnant growth, a large devaluation of the currency, and the scary sight of citizens facing food shortages, due to price controls and anti-business policies. Crime is skyrocketed and the murder rate is twice that of Mexico.
Link: http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21576399-narrow-tainted-election-victory-fitting-epitaph-his-rotten-predecessor-venezuela?frsc=dg|a
2 comments:
Hopefully the Venezuelan government will recount the votes, just to make sure the election is not rigged. If it is, the country's struggles will only get worse with corruption and rioting of citizens who are demanding new leadership.
I doubt that if the election was rigged that the government will recount the votes. I believe Venezuala need to slowly change to a more market based system as their price controls and planning-type practices have resulted in stagnant growth.
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