July 30, 2024 02:26 PM UTC

Venezuelan Election Ripples Across Colorado

• 3 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

An election in Venezuela over the weekend, the results of which are being questioned globally as socialist incumbent President Nicholas Maduro claims a narrow victory despite exit polls and by some reports released election data showing that Maduro was in fact defeated, prompted a rally in Aurora on Sunday attended by thousands of Venezuelans, many of whom fled repression by Maduro’s government and his predecessor Hugo Chavez. As CBS Denver reports:

Across Colorado, Venezuelan immigrants are watching closely and many are crying foul. They’d expressed hope for an end to the economic and political crisis that’s spurred so much emigration from Venezuela.

The Target parking lot at Havana Street and Mississippi Avenue in Aurora had the aftermath of a rollercoaster night. Venezuelan immigrants had gathered there Sunday to watch the elections returns.

One group sweeping and picking up garbage said they don’t want fellow Aurorans to think poorly of their countrymen. They were cleaning up the mess others left behind…

Republican CO-06 congressional candidate John Fabbricatore described a scene of pandemonium:

But if the Aurora PD’s statement on the incident is right, and we have no reason to assume it isn’t, Fabbricatore’s allegations were…well, mostly fabrications:

Regarding the spontaneous gathering at the Target parking lot on Sunday, Aurora Police issued this statement: “We are aware of the political situation in Venezuela that has generated interest and gatherings among members of the Venezuelan community across the metro area. Sunday night, a group of 3,000 to 4,000 people gathered at 1400 South Havana Street as Venezuela prepared to announce its presidential election results. The group was composed of families and people of all ages including children and older adults. [Pols emphasis] Given its size, Aurora police officers coordinated with local business owners in the area to ensure safety measures were in place. The crowd dispersed as the election results were announced. Officers are still investigating any offenses that might have occurred during the event.”

If Republicans were interested in exploiting the situation more thoughtfully, instead of bashing Venezuelan refugees rallying for freedom in Aurora, they’d be slamming the Democratic Socialists of America for what may be the most ill-conceived press statement on the Venezuelan election we’ve seen from anyone except maybe Maduro himself:

All we can say is, that’s a prime example of the tone-deafness that cost a couple of DSA state representatives their jobs this year.

Today, Gov. Jared Polis released a statement congratulating the opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as “President-elect” and calling for the end of “the systematic corruption, repression and torture of the socialist Maduro regime.”

I continue monitoring the situation in Venezuela very closely. Maduro is a dictator who has trampled on the rights and freedoms of the Venezuelan people, and it appears that he continues doing so through this election. With more than 73% of the final votes counted in Venezuela, there is now undeniable evidence that the candidate Edmundo Gonzalez has been elected president in a landslide. I congratulate President-elect Gonzalez and leader Maria Corina Machado and commend the millions of courageous Venezuelans who overcame unlawful and violent interference by the Maduro regime and threats to their physical safety to vote. Their dedication to the democratic process is an inspiration to freedom-loving peoples across the world. The people of Venezuela have spoken. The majority of Venezuelans want to end the systematic corruption, repression and torture of the socialist Maduro regime and bring a brighter future of opportunity and prosperity for Venezuelans both in their country and abroad.

That’s exactly what the Venezuelans who rallied in Aurora on Sunday are hoping to see, and it stands in contrast to baselessly accusing these crowds of people concerned about the fate of their country of hooliganism for political gain. Again, many of the Venezuelans who call Colorado home today are here because they fled persecution by the Maduro regime and the Chavez regime that preceded Maduro. Refugees fleeing socialist oppression don’t fit well politically with the Republican Party’s desire to portray migrants from Latin America as “invaders,” or for that matter the DSA’s absurd depiction of Venezuela as a socialist utopia–but if the Maduro regime falls and prosperity is restored to Venezuela, many of the migrants who fled the country will gladly return home.

The best outcome will fully satisfy neither, and neither extreme will get the credit.