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Venezuela’s Regional Elections and the Implications for the Opposition

By Juan Victor Fajardo

President Hugo Chávez’ party picked up governorships in the December 16 elections with the president playing a role in the contests despite his absence in Cuba.

While President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela remains in Cuba recovering from his fourth cancer surgery on the island, millions of his supporters delivered a solid political victory for his party in the country’s regional elections on December 16.

Of the 23 governorships that exist in Venezuela, the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (United Socialist Party—PSUV) won at least 19, extending its political supremacy in the country and taking four of eight states previously held by the opposition.

What the country faces, at this point, is...

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