Thread by @Maripuerta

Several days ago a local reporter asked what was the reason for the "interest" Venezuelans have about politics (and elections) in the United States.

We spoke about Venezuelan-Americans and their support for Trump, and the influence the Cuban-American exile in South Florida has on the Venezuelan-American community.

Among academics, the conversation about Venezuelan-Americans is gaining a lot of interest, both because of their political preferences and their impact on local electoral results.

However, what has provoked significant exchanges is the obsession Venezuelans show in social media about the electoral process in the United States.

A while ago I was reading someone showing concern about the mistreatment of Trump, asking how it is possible that this election could be legitimate when Biden is at 50% and Trump at 48%. Evidently this person does not remember that Clinton finished with 48% and Trump 46% in 2016.

But beyond the Electoral College criticism, the problem is that people forget that in a democracy, the electoral process is won by whoever has the most votes, and in this case, the most Electoral Votes (270).

The obsession Venezuelans have with US policy, and more specifically, with Trump, is a response to its political orphanage.

It's not just that Trump has taken measures, with dubious effective results, but he has also shown interest in recognizing Venezuelans.

A society ignored and abused by a political regime, with a fragmented, and weakened opposition with no representativity, Trump is filling that void symbolically.

Regardless of the fact that he has not been successful in his promise to depose Maduro, people remain hopeful, and although he has exhausted all the tools at his disposal to pressure the regime, the perception of having protection is enough.

That's enough for them to ignore his authoritarian nature, supporting his administration's attacks on democracy, without realizing that those same traits have characterized Chavismo for the past 20 years.

This has nothing to do with ideology, because Venezuelan society is a fragmented social reality that has been depleted of ideological references. This is a need for protection that has not been satisfied by the country's political class.

Being the most serious issue that, that same political class, in its inability to lead, decided to outsource representation to Trump, delegating to his administration the caretaking of Venezuelans.

On a less academic and more human level, this is my take. It's not about the mistakes made in the interpretation about the political or electoral system of the USA, you can fix that with reading. What I find alarming is the need to defend a relationship that does not exist.

To date, the United States has more than 230K deaths from COVID-19, and with all due respect: do you think he cares about the fate of a country he has no connection to?

My intention is not to annoy anyone, but it pains me to see how the hope of many in my country, is that someone who does not care about his own people, is going to take care of them.

Finally, this is a call to the Venezuelan political class. This is their failure, the consequence of a mediocre leadership that has not been able to connect with Venezuelans and their needs.

Time to organize, grow politically, promote democratic values. Don't expect anyone to save you. The American people organized, and voters were mobilized, and this is the result, it's not fraud, but the massive participation of a country determined to save its democracy.