Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro claimed victory after congressional elections this week, consolidating power in the National Assembly, Venezuela’s last remaining independent political institution. Many influential opposition leaders boycotted the election.
Kenneth Roberts, professor of comparative and Latin American politics at Cornell University, says the election results illustrate the Trump administration’s failure to elevate political alternatives in Venezuela, and that the country’s ongoing crises will land on President-elect Biden’s foreign policy plate.
“The victory of Nicolás Maduro's ruling party in Venezuela's congressional elections does little to resolve the country's political gridlock or move Venezuela in a more democratic direction.
“Nevertheless, it is a clear indication of the failure of the Trump administration's efforts to push Maduro from power and prop up opposition leader Juan Guaidó as a viable political alternative. Venezuela's ongoing political, economic and humanitarian crisis will thus land on the plate of the incoming Biden administration, which will face a number of key strategic choices for dealing with the country and the broader Latin American region.”
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