In some countries, voting is strongly encouraged, or even compulsory, and the penalty for not voting is a fine. Currently, the president of Venezuela’s Constituent National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, introduced a new penalty on Nov. 30 during a campaign rally.

“For the ones that don’t vote, there is no food,” said Cabello. “Whoever does not vote, does not eat. A ‘quarantine’ without food will be applied.” 

While the comments were taken to be an exaggeration by most, several groups, including the armed groups that support him known as “colectivos”, took him seriously. These colectivos carried out Cabello’s message and threatened people to vote. Residents of slums were told that buses would come to take them to their polling places, and that they would stop receiving government aid. This includes CLAP boxes, boxes with basic necessities such as flour, oil, and milk, distributed by the government. However, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has used the boxes to leverage more voters in his favor, as the boxes are only being distributed in neighborhoods full of government loyalists.

Cabello’s threat was made during the ongoing Venezuelan elections, which pit incumbent President Maduro against the president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó. President Maduro is the current president of Venezuela and is at the head of the authoritarian government currently in place. In 2018, he was reelected to his seat of president for another six years in what many countries considered to be an unlawful and unfair election. He also claimed the humanitarian crisis occurring in Venezuela was a hoax, and that the human rights violations were manipulations of data, or complete fabrications.

Maduro is opposed by Guaidó, whom most countries, including the U.S., recognize as the legitimate president of Venezuela. Guaidó claimed the position of interim president during anti-government protests, and is the head of the opposition movement against Maduro. However, his efforts were crippled by the government, as he has been replaced as the head of his own political party. Guaidó claimed the election would be a hoax, as the election would almost certainly be as fraudulent as the one that occurred in 2018. If Guaidó loses the election, Maduro will seize control of the National Assembly, the last part of the government that has resisted his control.

Venezuela is currently facing a humanitarian crisis, as a report from the World Food Program states that a third of the country is unable to put food on the table. Venezuelan citizens have fled the country, many on foot, as they feel threatened by the violence in the country. The Venezuelan economy has continued to worsen, as sanctions on the Maduro government have crippled its oil based economy. The election in Venezuela may very well determine the fate of the country, as Maduro’s election would signal the worsening of the crisis.

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