Venezuela: Maduro's Quest

      So, Latin America's No. 1 petro state held elections last week. Current president, Nicolas Maduro was again on the ballot, seeking a 4th term as president of the ailing country. When the election concluded, Maduro claimed victory, again. However, this election was somewhat different in that opposition groups activated poll watchers and data collection efforts that sought to ensure a valid count of ballots was made.

      And what did they find?  They found that Maduro lost the election. Yes, he lost. The opposition candidate won the election. Hmmmm. Has Maduro conceded? No chance; the dictator who has ruined the economy(following his predecessor's(Hugo Chavez) lead, has declared himself the winner. He and his military lackeys have put down demonstrations of protestors. The citizenry knows who won the election and it wasn't Maduro. The United States does not recognize Maduro as the winner. Most of the other Latin American countries do not recognize Maduro as the winner. There is one country that does: Brazil. It's president, De Silva, recognizes Maduro as the new president.   DeSilva was elected in the last election in Brazil after he was released from prison  serving a sentence for fraud. The Courts freed him and allowed him to run for the highest office again. DeSilva is a populist, and also a communist sympathizer. He promotes strongman governments and insists that dictators rule best. He was/is an acolyte of the infamous Castro brothers(Raul and Fidel) who personally ruined the Island of Cuba.

       With Brazil approving of Maduro, Lula, as DeSilva is called, knows he has access to Venezuelan oil resources, which poorly situated Brazil lacks. Maduro also would like to have DeSilva support his efforts to steal part of neighbor Ecuador's recently discovered oil fields immediately adjacent to Venezuela. That north eastern state of Ecuador has been the site of considerable exploration in recent years that has uncovered vast oil reserves within the country's borders. Ecuador will not approve of a land grab by Maduro. Meanwhile, Venezuelans have fled the country in huge numbers- over 4 millions have left, most going to Brazil and Ecuador for relief from Maduro's policies and decrepit economic conditions.

     So, the arrests will continue, the disputed election results will fester among the population, and the western hemisphere will continue to be disrupted.

     Look for a long waiting period until pressure builds among the Latin American community to oust Maduro once and for all.