I hope I am wrong... As of this moment, wholeheartedly, as a citizen of my country, as a mother and as a human being, I would love not to be right.... However, this post would have no sense of being if there were no plausible reasons for it in the first place... You see, in exactly 2 weeks from now, there will be a vote for the President or President of the Republic of Venezuela.... The choices are simple; 6 more years of chavismo and socialism, or break this atrocious cycle and kick the board once and for all....
And believe me, I know what I am talking about. I understand that for people who do not live the reality that we have had to endure for a quarter of a century now (yes, 25 years of ‘Socialism of the 21st Century’ being in government in Venezuela), these words that you are about to read will seem almost like a provocation? However, it is no less true that we, those of us who do have to deal with all the consequences of a totally destroyed future, of a country in ruins and without hope, find ourselves in a vortex that places us before the most important decision of all: what to do and how to do it, on 28 July 2024?
Perhaps as never before, the real possibility of putting an end to the chavismo led by Nicolás Maduro, depends on us, the Venezuelans; as we will do in two weeks... I have read a lot about the possible and plausible scenarios that could arise from the delivery of the results of the voting... And honestly, I don't see any paths to peace and reconciliation. I am not saying that there will be an imminent war and that the drums are beating of an inevitable conflict.... But let's not fool ourselves; these guys have held on to power for so long for one reason: they have no other choice.
Journalist Casto Ocando, one of the best-informed people on military, police and military intelligence in Venezuela, has been warning about this for at least 7 months... Maduro's inner circle already knows that, in no legal way imaginable, he will be able to win the upcoming elections. The socialist government is a house of cards... Fragile, weak but not going to die in peace; if not destroying everything in its path... Similar to the scorched earth policy of the Nazis in March-April 1945 in that Germany of the Second World War.
Now, the conversations that have been held between Maduro, US government officials, intermediary countries and the Venezuelan opposition are notorious. To put an end to all this once and for all? To allow truly free elections, and above all, to put an end to one of the worst humanitarian bloodlettings in living memory. 7 million Venezuelan migrants have left Venezuela since 2015 until today. Less than 90,000 of these will be able to vote, and more than 16 million Venezuelans are called to exercise their vote in 2 weeks...
The outlook does not look encouraging for Maduro and his political force. They know it. Every day that passes the desperation is incessant and worse. They spy, kidnap, mistreat, disappear, fine, close down, threaten, all the people who demonstrate in favour of María Corina Machado and the opposition alternative... Just google it and you can easily see the outrages that this election campaign we are witnessing at the expense of the corrupt and violent power of Maduro's government against innocent people....
Does it surprise anyone? Absolutely not. But neither is it an exaggeration to say that they have never acted in this desperate way before. Defeat is imminent and all indications are that they will not be able to manipulate the waves of voters who will come out to elect the opposition. As I have already mentioned, there is no way they can win by legal means. But as Cersei Lannister said in Game of Thrones, ‘Power is Power’. And indeed, they control the weapons, the police forces and the army of the Republic. Put more simply, if they want to, they can start a bloodbath of catastrophic proportions...
The three options on the table are as follows: first, accept defeat and initiate a peaceful but hard-fought political transition process between them and the newly elected president. Second, to ignore what we all know will happen (the defeat of chavismo) and to manipulate, distort and sterilely deceive public opinion, and therefore the perception of reality... Third scenario; proclaiming themselves ‘winners’, acting as victims and which false flag attacks, justifying the repression, violence and torture that are typical of them, under a cloak of ‘revolutionary order and justice’.
They forget, that what makes this election different from all others; is that we have nothing to lose.... Our families were divided forever, we lost our future and longings, they took everything from us; we simply do not possess fear or terror of them anymore. And that determination, coupled with the outpouring of people who are going to vote and go. To demand compliance with the law and the Barbados agreements between chavismo and the opposition, will be enormous and uncontested. Journalistic sources point to plans ‘a’, ‘b’ and ‘c’ of high-ranking and middle-ranking chavista officials for their exit from power and impunity. Even figures such as Diosdado Cabello or Jorge Rodríguez have their days numbered... Will justice be done with these guys? I doubt it...
Most probably, if they accept defeat, in 6 months (until January 2025, when it is time to hand over power) everything will be solved by paying billions of dollars. To them, to the military and torturers who supported them for decades and to the military who made possible the quarter of a century of a political system that plunged us into absolute misery... 
