In Miami, Venezuelan Diaspora Anxiously Watches a Vote It Can't Participate In
In Miami, Venezuelan Diaspora Anxiously Watches a Vote It Can't Participate In
"We left because of this government and yet we find ourselves unable to express our frustration," said AS/COA's Guillermo Zubillaga to The Washington Post.
Vilma Petrash taught politics in Venezuela, fled to Miami after state prosecutors accused her of being a “civil rebel,” and is a regular at gatherings to support opposition leaders back home.
But she won’t be casting a ballot when Venezuela opens its polls on Sunday in an election widely considered the biggest electoral challenge to Nicolás Maduro, the country’s president, since he rose to power in 2013.
The vast majority of Venezuelans in this city — where arepa joints fill strip malls — will not be able to participate in the election. Venezuela’s consulates in the United States are shuttered. The only way to vote would be to return to Venezuela, something that Petrash and many others say they’re not able to do.
They aren’t alone. There are nearly 8 million Venezuelans now dispersed around the world, and election experts estimate just 69,000 will be able to vote. For Petrash and others, not being able to participate in what could be one of the nation’s most consequential elections in recent history is infuriating. [...]
Guillermo Zubillaga, senior director of public policy programs at the Americas Society/Council of the Americas, said the desire to vote hasn’t been this high in years, adding to many Venezuelans’ frustration.
“We left because of this government and yet we find ourselves unable to express our frustration, to channel it,” said Zubillaga, who is Venezuelan.
