Venezuela Sets a Date for Change

Finally: a ray of light in Venezuela’s ever-steeper, ever-darker descent into an inferno of repression and chaos. Yesterday the Venezuelan government announced December 6 as the date of the next elections to the National Assembly, after a delay so long that some surmised that President Nicolás Maduro had simply decided to violate the constitution and not hold them at all. Maduro had — and still has — good reason to fear the polls. His popularity is down to 22 percent, with his socialist party, the PSUV, garnering only 16 percent. The opposition looks set, as of this considerable remove, to win by a large margin. What could have persuaded Maduro to take such a risk? One thing only: the imminent death in prison of Leopoldo López, the charismatic, 43-year-old leader of the Venezuelan opposition party, Voluntad Popular. Imprisoned since February 2014 on what look to be fabricated charges, López declared a hunger strike on May 25. He ate nothing for the next 30 days, sending his health into catastrophic decline. Yesterday, responding to the news that the government had given in to his key demand by finally setting a date for the elections, López announced that he was finally breaking his fast. More…