Venezuela’s sound of silence
The people abstain from voting in parliamentary elections as the United States turns oil sanctions back on
Venezuelans are calling it the “ghost election”. On May 25th the regime of President Nicolás Maduro staged a vote to elect governors, mayors and National Assembly representatives. Turnout appeared pitiful. Polling stations were deserted. “Nothing will change with this farce,” says an octogenarian voter in the working-class district of Petare in the capital, Caracas, who cast a ballot only “out of habit”.
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This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “The eloquent sound of silence”
From the May 31st 2025 edition
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