美国国家公共电台 NPR Opposition Parties In Venezuela Prepare For Elections, Hoping They Will Come

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Venezuela's economic crisis helps make the government there highly unpopular. Hugo Chavez, the late leader, and his socialist¹ allies used to win nearly every popular vote, but the current president, Nicolas Maduro, is fast losing support, as John Otis reports.

JUAN PABLO GUANIPA: (Speaking Spanish).

JOHN OTIS, BYLINE²: Juan Pablo Guanipa is running for governor of the Western Venezuelan state of Zulia.

GUANIPA: (Speaking Spanish).

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: As he campaigns in Maracaibo, the state capital, people complain of food shortages and hyperinflation.

GUANIPA: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: The solution, Guanipa tells them, is to vote against the ruling Socialist Party, which controls 20 of Venezuela's 23 states and to elect opposition³ candidates like himself.

GUANIPA: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: But it's unclear whether voters will get that chance. The elections had been scheduled for December but have been indefinitely postponed⁴. Critics claim the Maduro government took this decision after polls predicted that ruling party candidates would lose nearly every state. Last year, the Maduro government canceled a recall referendum that could have removed the president from power. It has suspended voting for everything from city councils and labor⁵ unions to student governments at public universities. It wasn't always like this. Under Chavez, Venezuela called elections all the time, with the Socialists⁶ nearly always coming out on top. When Chavez died in 2013, Maduro won a snap election to replace him.

PHIL GUNSON: It loved having elections when he used to win them. They used to boast all the time, oh, we've had 18 elections and 17 of them we've won. You know, were terribly Democratic.

OTIS: That's Phil Gunson, a Venezuela analyst⁷ for the International Crisis Group. He says the government grew skeptical⁸ of elections after the opposition won the 2015 legislative⁹ elections in a landslide¹⁰.

GUNSON: They say there isn't enough money. There is an economic crisis. Elections are not the priority. I mean, these are all just excuses. Everybody knows that the real reason why the government doesn't want to have elections is because it's going to lose them.

OTIS: In a speech on Tuesday, Maduro insisted that presidential elections scheduled for next year would go forward.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT NICOLAS MADURO: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: But it's unclear how fair the balloting¹¹ will be. Critics point out that Maduro wields¹² vast control over the government's national electoral council, as well as the courts, the armed forces and the media. His government has waylaid¹³ the opposition's two most popular politicians - Leopoldo Lopez, who was jailed three years ago, and former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles. On Friday, Capriles was banned from seeking office for the next 15 years on what he calls trumped¹⁴ up corruption¹⁵ allegations. In addition, critics say, the Maduro administration is working to sideline opposition parties. It is demanding that they gather thousands of member signatures to prove that they have a legitimate¹⁶ following. If not, the parties will be declared illegal. Back at his campaign headquarters, Guanipa points out that the opposition's fight is for more than political posts.

GUANIPA: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: "Venezuela has become a dictatorship," he says, "that means we have to fight for the right just to have the elections." For NPR News, I'm John Otis in Maracaibo, Venezuela.

1 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 socialists   

社会主义者( socialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The socialists saw themselves as true heirs of the Enlightenment. 社会主义者认为自己是启蒙运动的真正继承者。
• The Socialists junked dogma when they came to office in 1982. 社会党人1982年上台执政后，就把其政治信条弃之不顾。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

9 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

10 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

11 balloting   

v.（使）投票表决( ballot的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Clark took a commanding leading in the early balloting. 在最初投票时，克拉克遥遥领先。 来自辞典例句
• The balloting had stagnated, he couldn't win. 投票工作陷于停顿，他不能得胜。 来自辞典例句

12 wields   

手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的第三人称单数 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）

参考例句：

• She wields enormous power within the party. 她操纵着党内大权。
• He remains chairman, but wields little power at the company. 他还是主席，但在公司没有什么实权了。

13 waylaid   

v.拦截，拦路( waylay的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I got waylaid on my way here. 我在来这里的路上遭到了拦路抢劫。
• He was waylaid by thieves. 他在路上被抢了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

14 trumped   

v.（牌戏）出王牌赢（一牌或一墩）( trump的过去分词 )；吹号公告，吹号庆祝；吹喇叭；捏造

参考例句：

• That woman trumped up various baseless charges against him. 那个女人捏造种种毫无根据的罪名指控他。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Several of his colleagues trumped up a complaint to get him removed from the job. 他的几位同事诬告他，使他丟掉了工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

16 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。