<p>As expected, the ;Venezuelan President Nicolá;s Maduro ;was re-elected on Sunday, even though the country is experiencing an economic and social crisis. ;</p>
<div>Venezuela&#8217;s ;electoral commission (CNE) claims that Maduro won by 68 percent and that a total of 5.8 million people voted for him. ;</div>
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<div>However, considering the dire situation in Venezuela, the reelection appears to be rigged.</div>
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<div>Maduro&rsquo;s administration has about a 22 percent approval rating. ;</div>
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<div>But right before the election, he ramped up fear tactics and attempted to control voters with the limited food supply. Maduro also barred popular opposition candidates from running against him. ;</div>
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<div>&ldquo;Look how much have they&rsquo;ve underestimated the people of the revolution,&rdquo; said Maduro after winning the election. &ldquo;Look how much they&rsquo;ve underestimated me, and here we are once again &mdash; victorious!&rdquo;</div>
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<div>Maduro&#8217;s closest rival, Henri Falcon, received ;21 percent of the votes but is demanding a recount claiming the election was ;fraudulent.</div>
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<div>Before the election, some polls predicted that Flacon should win. ;</div>
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<div>&#8220;A recent poll by Dataná;lisis suggests that Mr Falcó;n should win. It puts his support at 28% of registered voters. ;Mr ;Maduro and ;Mr ;Bertucci are roughly even at 17% each. ;Mr ;Falcó;n&rsquo;s chances depend on anti-Maduro voters overcoming their sense of hopelessness to turn up at the polls,&#8221; writes <em>The Economist</em> last week before Sunday&#8217;s election. ;</div>
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<div>Only 48 percent of Venezuelans made their way to the voting polls, which is much less than the turnout in 2013, which was at about 80 percent. ;</div>
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<div>Some groups are claiming that even the turnout percentage was incorrect.</div>
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<div>&#8220;This time, the main opposition coalition, the Broad Front, called for a boycott, saying the election was a sham, and there was only a trickle of voters at many polling stations. The coalition said turnout was under 30 percent,&#8221; writes <em>The Financial Times. ;</em></div>
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<div>Venezuelans feel so helpless that they think even if the election outcome was different and Maduro&#8217;s opposition won, things wouldn&#8217;t get much better. ; ;</div>
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<div>&ldquo;I ignored the election completely. We all did,&rdquo; said hotel worker Pedro Cañ;as to T<em>he Financial Times.</em> &ldquo;Honestly, Venezuela&rsquo;s problems are so severe that I don&rsquo;t think any of these guys can solve them &mdash; not Maduro, not Falcó;n, no one.&rdquo;</div>
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<div>Maduro&#8217;s reelection has harbored global criticism. The U.S. is preparing to slap the country with even oil sanctions.</div>
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<div>&#8220;The next step is sanctions against the oil sector,&#8221; said Diego Moya-Ocampos, a principal political analyst for Latin America at IHS Markit, to<em> ;CNBC. ;</em>&#8220;This is crucial because (Venezuela&#8217;s) oil sector represents 25 percent of GDP (gross domestic product), 50 percent of fiscal revenues and 97 percent of revenue from foreign exchange&hellip; So, obviously, sanctions on the oil sector in Venezuela will be a game changer.&#8221;</div>
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<div>The Trump administration has repeatedly threatened to impose these sanctions. ; ;</div>
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<div>&#8220;In response to the vote, U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order restricting Venezuela&rsquo;s ability to liquidate state assets and debt in the United States, the latest in a series of sanctions that seeks to choke off financing for the already cash-strapped government,&#8221; writes <em>Reuters. ;</em></div>
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<div>The oil sanctions could potentially accelerate the country&#8217;s inevitable demise. ;The ;U.S. is Venezuela&#8217;s number one customer.</div>
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<div>&#8220;Oil sanctions would be devastating to the Venezuelan economy and to the regime&#8217;s internal stability as they would very strongly impact the revenues that flow through the patronage regime,&#8221; said Fernando Freijedo, Latin America analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, to<em> CNBC.</em></div>
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<div>Venezuela&#8217;s oil production ;has dropped roughly 40 percent since 2015 to only1.4 million barrels a day. ;</div>
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<div>But the plunging oil output, lack of food, and hyperinflation aren&#8217;t the only factors causing Maduro&#8217;s government to lose support.</div>
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<div>&#8220;Cracks within the ;chavista ;government are widening. The former ambassador to the UN (and head of PDVSA) and the former attorney-general are in exile. They accuse ;Mr ;Maduro of corruption and crimes against humanity. Most of his main advisers are subject to sanctions by the United States and the European Union for drug-trafficking or undermining democracy. These could become harsher and target more people. The government has jailed some 60 officers in the army, whose support is vital to the regime&rsquo;s survival. The charge, it is ;thought, is that they plotted against it. On May 11th the president of ;neighbouring ;Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, predicted that &ldquo;a change in the regime&rdquo; will happen &ldquo;very soon,&#8221; writes<em> The Economist. ;</em></div>
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<div><strong>Author&#8217;s note:</strong> The recent sham election proves that democracy in Venezuela is dead. There was no other possible outcome besides Maduro winning. Venezuelans will need to organize a revolution in order to survive. ;</div>