Venezuela’s recent recall referendum of President Hugo Chavez was a huge challenge for the opposition which eventually lead to a exhausting and disappointing conclusion. While charges of electronic fraud in the actual voting or vote-counting are unproven, the dubious and even illegal tactics that the Chavez regime used throughout the larger process point to rampant “institutional fraud” that is undermining Venezuelan democracy.
About the Author
Miriam Kornblith is director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, D.C. She has taught politics at the Central University of Venezuela, and from 1998 to 1999 served as a board member and vice-president of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council.
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Since 1996, eight postcommunist authoritarian rulers have been ousted by “electoral revolutions.” Why have these not succeeded in other postcommunist countries?
