Defying international calls, Venezuela holds contentious election
Source: Washington Post
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro defiantly followed through Sunday with his pledge to hold an internationally condemned election, creating a critical new stage in a long-simmering crisis that could mint the Western Hemisphere’s newest dictatorship.
Stinging tear gas filled the capital and beyond on a deadly day of voting that took place under the gaze of 326,000 troops. The Maduro government, which showed zero tolerance toward pro-democracy protests and stormed squares with armed forces, insisted by midday that “99 percent and more” of the nation was turning out for the deeply unpopular ballot.
But at least 10 polling stations in the relatively more pro-government western swath of Caracas were virtually empty with only a few hours of voting left. The opposition, which boycotted the vote, declared that turnout was remarkably low and said 14 in its ranks died in the streets, including a 13-year-old boy.
The election, decried as illegitimate by a growing number of nations, will create what critics call a puppet congress with vast powers to rewrite the constitution and supplant the opposition-controlled National Assembly, leaving all branches of government under firm socialist control.
“Venezuela has screamed with its silence,” said Julio Borges, head of the National Assembly.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/defying-international-calls-venezuela-holds-contentious-election/2017/07/30/be3cd614-7089-11e7-8c17-533c52b2f014_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_venezuela-1130am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.74dbde9a3300
= new reply since forum marked as read
Almost.
Venezuela will probably have a violent revolution, and a right-wing demagogue making big promises will grab power.
Gee, sounds familiar... 
