The 2015 parliamentary elections in Venezuela Articles uri icon

publication date

  • September 2016

start page

  • 187

end page

  • 190

issue

  • 43

volume

  • 10

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0261-3794

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1873-6890

abstract

  • The opposition scored a convincing victory in the parliamentary elections held in Venezuela on December 6, 2015, a clear turning point in the period since Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999. For the first time, the ruling party lost a national election (apart from the constitutional referendum of 2007) and did so, moreover, by a wide margin, since the opposition won the qualified majority of two-thirds in the National Assembly. The Chavistas saw these elections as a referendum on their "socialist" model, while for the opposition, the elections were an opportunity to do something about the critical situation of the country, with its democratic institutions undermined, human rights under threat, and an acute socio-economic crisis.

subjects

  • Politics

keywords

  • elecciones; venezuela; política