Venezuela elections: After years of repression, opposition hopes for victory

“She will rot in prison. No one can rescue her.”

That’s what a prison officer told the family of Emirlendris Benitez, who went missing in Venezuela in August 2018 after being arrested with her taxi-driver partner while giving someone a ride to the city center.

She was arbitrarily accused of plotting to assassinate the president and sentenced to 30 years in prison without a fair trial.

She was pregnant when she was taken to prison, and despite her protests, the guards punched her in the stomach, causing her to miscarry.

Her family said she was tortured in prison, including having her fingernails cut with a hammer.

Human rights group Foro Penal says there were 15,700 politically motivated arbitrary arrests in Venezuela between 2014 and 2023, and hundreds of people remain incarcerated.

This is one of many ways the government has cracked down on dissent.

The government and prosecutors have not responded to requests for comment or interviews.

President Nicolas Maduro has been in power since taking over from leader Hugo Chavez in 2013 and is running for re-election on Sunday.

His photos were lined up in the streets and on the final day of the campaign in Caracas, hundreds of buses were arranged to transport people from across the country to his final rally, where free food packs were distributed as an encouragement to attendees.

One woman at the rally, Venus, said Maduro’s PSUV party had given her many “benefits.”

“We are here to support Nicolás Maduro to the end,” she said.

“To those who oppose us, who say there is no democracy here but dictatorship… this revolution will continue to shine,” said Ivan, another supporter.

But some of Maduro’s supporters have also fallen victim to the crackdown on dissent.

Ana (not her real name), a member of Emil Lendris’ family, spoke to us on the condition of anonymity.

Her family voted for Nicolás Maduro and before him, Hugo Chavez, but now, she says, “everything has changed because we understand how justice works in Venezuela.”

“The government is desperate because they know they lost. Many people are opening their eyes and beginning to realize the reality we live in Venezuela. In the name of Almighty God, I hope that the new president will win and that Venezuela will be better.”

Last elections were widely seen as neither free nor fair, many countries refused to recognise Maduro as president and the United States imposed further sanctions on Venezuela.

For the first time in years, the opposition feels it has significant momentum and a lead in the polls, making it more difficult for the ruling party to claim victory.

But the government has used a range of tactics to preemptively suppress the opposition, using military, electoral and judicial authorities it controls, including detaining critics, canceling invitations to EU election observers, and blocking voter registration for millions of Venezuelans living abroad.

Alcides Bracho is a teacher who was detained on July 4, 2022, after taking part in a protest demanding a salary increase.

“I hadn’t had a raise in 800 days and my salary was $3.50 a month,” he recalled.

But after the protests he was arrested and charged with “terrorism.”

“About 22 people came to the house with long rifles — the kind of guns you see in action movies and little boy video games — and they didn’t have a search warrant.”

He was sentenced to 16 years in prison for “conspiracy” and “criminal conspiracy” and was made to stand naked for 72 hours while in custody, with no food, water or toilet access.

“I thought I was going to die.”

“If you want to start a business in Venezuela, you can start in prison. You have to pay for everything. The state doesn’t even give you food,” he said, describing the lack of even the most basic necessities in prison.

He was eventually released in December in a prisoner swap with the United States that also freed 19 political prisoners in exchange for Alex Saab, a suspected money launderer with close ties to President Maduro who is indicted in the United States.

Despite what happened, Bracho wants to keep fighting.

“If we were all silent and no one did that, there would be no conflict.”

“Repression is increasing. We are very worried. We can’t get our lives back on track and there is no safe place.”

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was barred from standing in Sunday’s election, dozens of her campaigners were detained and even the food stall that provided her with meals was closed.

Most television and radio stations are state-run, and much other digital media is blocked.

Bus TV is a campaign in which volunteers read “real news” on buses across the country.

Andres Brankovic is one of the volunteers, and he believes “censorship” could influence the election.

“Twitter is one of the most used apps in Venezuela right now because people can post what they like and find out what’s going on. But people who just have state TV at home don’t know what’s going on in the opposition.”

“All the news is in favor of the regime,” he says.

Despite having the world’s largest oil reserves, Venezuela is extremely poor: More than half the country’s population lives in poverty, and nearly eight million people have fled the country, contributing to a migrant crisis at the U.S. border.

Jonathan Marcano lives in a small room with his family of five.

To support his family, he goes out fishing every day on a rubber tire boat, navigating dangerous currents.

He can’t afford a boat, or even fuel for it, so he relies on the tides to get him back to land each day.

“I have always voted for people who are responsible, and Chavez has given me confidence.”

But now he can’t make a decision. “Help is not coming, what we need most is not coming. I am very disappointed in the party.”

Maduro blames U.S. sanctions for the country’s woes, but critics say corruption and economic mismanagement are also to blame.

Western countries have reasons to want better ties with Venezuela: the country has oil and natural resources; Iran, China and Russia rely on it as an ally; and they don’t want the U.S. migrant crisis to worsen.

But if the vote is again deemed unfair, sanctions are unlikely to be lifted and the government will concede it.