Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuela-president-maduro-brands-eu-electoral-observers-spies-2021-11-28/
The European Union sent a thousand observers to the Venezuelan regional elections. In these several regional elections, opposition parties challenged the legitimacy of elections, as they took major losses with Maduro’s Socialist party winning 20 of the 23 governor positions and 210 of the 327 mayoral races.
Maduro reacted to these observers with firm criticism. On national television he addressed the state claiming the European Union observers were “spies” and that they attempted to “stain” the Venezuelan election process. After the sweeping Socialist victories, Maduro responded saying, “ “The European Union couldn’t stain the electoral process, it was impeccable, beautiful.” After the election, Maduro is planning to meet with opposition governors and with Socialist party members. Maduro is likely happy about the victory, however the Socialist Party’s popularity has dwindled compared to previous elections.
This election signifies the continued dominance of the Socialist party within Venezuela and a continued hard-line approach of Venezuela to the United States and its capitalist Western allies. This represents the continued dominance of leftist and center-left parties in much of Latin America. For example, leftists have won several elections in countries like Honduras, Cuba, Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, and Nicaragua while right-wing politicians have lost their grasp of many conservative strongholds. This is likely because the United States lessened its presence throughout much of South America after the Cold War. Now, the United States still imposes sanctions on many leftist South American states however, it no longer serves the United State’s national interest to actively fund right-wing guerilla groups. Additionally, the EU observers are unlikely to make any large lasting impact in the region or change election policy within Venezuela.
There are multiple reasons that motivated the EU actions and they can be perceived through a realist and liberal perspective. A realist would argue that the EU sent observers to help ensure opposition party members won more seats. This would likely privatize more sectors of Venezuela’s economy and allow the EU’s member states to trade for Venezuela’s resources and gain economic power. A liberal perspective would argue that the EU wants to uphold democracy across the world to ensure peace and free trade. Therefore, it would serve the EU’s and its member states’ national interest to democratize Venezuela by ensuring the democratic processes are fair.