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Venezuela's Maduro Seeks to Tighten His Grip Via Election

Associated Press

   CARACAS, VENEZUELA - With the political opponents of President Nicolás
   Maduro boycotting Sunday's election for the National Assembly, his
   socialist party is expected to dominate the vote, giving him control of
   the last major institution in Venezuela outside his grasp.

   The opposition contends the election is rigged and has called its own
   referendum to counter it. Both votes are playing out in the waning days
   of the Trump administration, which leaves office with Maduro firmly
   entrenched despite its efforts to bring about his departure through
   diplomacy and sanctions.

   By taking over the National Assembly, some experts say, Maduro's United
   Socialist Party of Venezuela will effectively smother the last remnants
   of democracy in the country.

   "Everything indicates that he will achieve what he has always sought,
   which is to have total, authoritarian, hegemonic control of all the
   country's institutions," said Michael Shifter, president of the
   Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue.

   He expects U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who has not hesitated in
   calling Maduro a "dictator," to maintain a tough position against the
   South American leader, and even refine the strategy further, such as
   taking steps to work more closely with European allies.

   Deepening crisis

   Once an oil-producing powerhouse, Venezuela has been embroiled for
   years in a deepening political and economic crisis. More than 5 million
   people have fled the country in recent years, the world's largest
   migration after war-torn Syria. The International Monetary Fund
   projects a 25% decline this year in Venezuela's GDP, while
   hyperinflation diminishes the value of its currency, the bolivar.

   Maduro, the handpicked successor to the late President Hugo Chávez,
   won a second term in 2018. But Washington and several nations accused
   him of fixing the outcome by banning his most popular opponents from
   challenging him.

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