Las Elecciones

The elections took place on Sunday and when I went to bed that night the result had not been announced. I was awoken around midnight by the banging of pots and pans, the caserolazo, indicating that Maduro had won and the Caprilistas were rallying. I looked outside and sure enough, Cointa was leaning out the window banging on her pot. I found out in the morning that the margin was less than one percent (on the order of 200,000 votes) although the polls had Maduro with a double digit lead. The head of the CNE (Consejo Nacional Electoral) had declared that the results were permanent many times on TV, but Capriles responded almost immediately calling foul and demanding a recount. There were reports of Chavistas escorting people into the polls and coercing them into voting for Maduro. According to the Jimmy Carter Foundation, Venezuelan elections have a great deal of integrity and this election was most likely very legitimate. To me, the state money, resources, personnel, and media time used by Maduro in his campaign are more troubling. Who knows what kind of effect this unfair access and financing had on the election? Anyway, Capriles went on TV in the afternoon saying if Maduro is proclaimed the president, the Caprilistas should peacefully protest at 8PM with the caserolazo. We were eating at a restaurant with a TV and when Capriles announced this the whole restaurant erupted in applause. Later on, we were driving down la Avenida de las Americas and we came across a mob of Caprilistas blocking the streets. Everyone started whipping U-turns and driving over the median, classic Venezuela. Things only got worse from here; once we got home we heard reports of riots and fires in the Centro. Later on, Cointa let us join her in the caserolazo downstairs so from 8PM-9PM we banged on pots and pans with the rest of the neighborhood. Venusa had called and notified us that we would be quarantined in our houses for the night and the whole next day. On Tuesday, Mérida got pretty violent. The Caprilistas gathered on la Avenida Urdaneta and the tupamaros (the government motorcycle police charged with “keeping the peace”) violently broke up the demonstration. From pictures I have seen, it appears that there were many confrontations throughout the day between Caprilistas and the National Guard. They cancelled classes Wednesday and mandated that we stay in our houses again, so we were cooped up with Cointa for another day. Although the Venusa director called and instructed the host moms to make us lunch, Cointa refused and would not let us leave to find food either. Upon hearing this, the Venusa director became angry and demanded that Cointa let us leave for lunch. Later in the day, we received a message notifying us that we would be moved to a new home stay in less than two hours. Although it was weird to leave Cointa so abruptly, I would agree that in the past month or two she has begun to treat the host role as a business and has become somewhat disengaged and aloof.  We had many good times with her, but ever since she contracted dengue and a bad case of gripe, she has been more grumpy and not quite herself. Anyway, now I have a room to myself with a bathroom in a house with a very nice woman, so I'm not complaining. Today classes resumed and we were escorted by a private bus to school, totally unnecessary. I think most of this quarantine business is pretty overkill. It's analogous to the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul.   Most, if not all, neighborhoods were quiet and relaxed, everyone was going to work as usual, and anyone who didn't want to get shot with rubber bullets could easily avoid areas where there were demonstrations. Basically the folks in charge of the program and those at the University of Minnesota mandated that we stay in our houses so they weren't liable if anything happened. Anyway, Maduro is president and Capriles and his supporters are still working on a recount which will never occur. A recount would not do anything since the vote itself was legit; the only unfair part is the power Maduro wielded as president to maintain his position. Given his lack of experience and charisma, he probably will not be around for long and the opposition will inevitably gain power in the next few years.