And just think, that was only the US delegation. The US, people. You know, the country whose citizens are constantly being bombarded with the media mantra that goes “Chávez autocratic, Chávez dictator, Chávez trying to be president for life, Chávez extremely dangerous to democracy, blah blah blah”?One wonders if that party line is going to change now, or if it’s going to go on as usual. Auntie ‘Bina ain’t holding her breath, kids.The U.S. delegation found that the voting in Venezuela’s 2009 referendum was, overall, fair, transparent, and clean. While there were a few instances of technical problems, we were impressed by the efficiency and simplicity with which Venezuelan voters were able to express their preferences. We often found ourselves wishing that elections in the United States were conducted with such uniform professionalism and care, and that the election results could be tallied as quickly. Our observations of Venezuelan popular democracy in action stand in marked contrast with media depictions of Venezuela’s government as autocratic.
