⚖️ Cuban copycats, climate change in court

Venezuela hints at a transition into a Cuba-style electoral system. And the Peruvian farmer that sued greenhouse gas emitters in Germany.

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Ignacio Portes & Lucas Berti
May 30, 2025

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VENEZUELA

Maduro hints at Cuban-style transition after regional elections

Newly-elected governor of Zulia state, Luis Caldera, gestures upon arriving at the Baralt Theatre to be officially proclaimed one of the winners of Venezuela's parliamentary elections. Photo: Isaac Urrutia/Reuters via Folhapress

Newly-elected governor of Zulia state, Luis Caldera, gestures upon arriving at the Baralt Theatre to be officially proclaimed one of the winners of Venezuela's parliamentary elections. Photo: Isaac Urrutia/Reuters via Folhapress

After casting his vote in the much-questioned gubernatorial and assembly elections organized this weekend in Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro told reporters that the country’s voting system might change in the near future.

“Venezuela needs to make the new political system a reality. It needs to build its own electoral system and reform all of its electoral laws. We need to create a system based on communal circuits as a new permanent consultation system. We need to reengineer everything, where people vote and how people vote,” Maduro said.

That same night, electoral authorities announced that the ruling socialist coalition won 22 of the country’s 23 governorships (plus an extra one in the Essequibo territory — an oil-rich region part of Guyana). It will also control 256 of 285 assembly seats, authorities said. 

The completely one-sided results came after most of the opposition called for an electoral boycott, one year after Maduro’s government blatantly stole the 2024 presidential election. Parallel counts suggest that the opposition would have won the presidency and 67% of the votes, against 30% for the government.

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