The effervescence with which Venezuelan social media users keep alive the discussion around the opposition victory in Barinas, Hugo Chávez’s home state, contrasts with the silence of senior government officials, who have avoided commenting on the defeat they experienced for the second time, in just over a month.
"Barinas won" is the message that opposition supporters have repeated on Twitter and that the governor-elect of Barinas, Sergio Garrido, promoted to celebrate his victory.
Last Sunday, January 9, the unthinkable happened: the Chavistas stopped governing Barinas, the bastion that the ruling party refused to lose in the regional elections on November 21, which were repeated amid a controversial judicial decision.
With more than 14 points of difference that gave him the position of governor, Garrido went from being a regional leader with a political career only known in Barinas to being the opponent who managed to realize the much-desired unity to which the anti-Chavista national leadership aspires.
The opposition leader Juan Guaidó himself admitted the importance of the Barinese triumph by asking his followers to be inspired by the events experienced in the llanera region to "achieve change".
"The next election must be to get out of the dictatorship and our struggle continues to be to make it free and fair, through a comprehensive Agreement. May the heroic demonstration of Barinas inspire us to have unity of purpose and action that allows us to achieve change in the country"Guaidó wrote on his Twitter.
WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING
But, who did not say anything was President Nicolás Maduro, who, after the elections, made a quick trip to Nicaragua to attend the inauguration of President Daniel Ortega.
Maduro returned to Venezuela this Tuesday and appeared before the country in a broadcast of the state channel VTV in which he touched on topics such as the pandemic and the return to school without referring, not for a second, to the defeat of the Chavista candidate, former Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, loser with 41.27% of the votes.
The presidential activity lasted one hour and 19 minutes without the president mentioning the counts of the electoral repetition, which took place after the Venezuelan Supreme Court decided to annul the results of the November 21 elections in Barinas, considering that the opposition candidate and winner by a narrow margin, Freddy Superlano, appeared despite being disqualified.
The line of silence seems to be the one ordered to the rest of the officials of the Venezuelan Executive, who have limited themselves to sending messages of encouragement on social networks to the Chavista defeated in the contest.
As for Arreaza, after the statements offered this Monday in which he assured that he will defend the region and will not allow the new governor "that hurts the town", did not pronounce again.
Meanwhile, in Barinas the celebration of the opponents continues while Governor Garrido, backed by the Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (MUD) party, complied with all the formalities required by law to take office.
VICTORY WITHOUT MIXTURE
The achievement of the opposition in Barinas is recognized by their own and outsiders who have spoken from all possible scenarios to ensure that it sets a precedent in the opposition struggle in the Caribbean country.
"Barinas llanera land roads of palm and sun, we show that together we can make a difference", was another of Garrido’s messages on Twitter in which he insisted on the importance of the regional victory.
The Avanzada Progresista opposition party also ratified this vision by ensuring that "the electoral victory in Barinas is the result of the collective effort on the part of those who got tired of the abuse and trampling of a family group".
In a statement, the party celebrated the organization and mobilization of the Barinese that prevailed over the "abstentionist extremism" and the "feudal continuity".
"We join in the joy of the Barinese people for this great democratic day, this victory belongs to you, to everyone, but to no one in particular. Gone are the unfounded myths about the uselessness of the vote, about the impossibility of defeating the Government in the absence of certain and certain conditions", assured the party.
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