In the wake of a recent U.S.-backed coup attempt, there’s a lot of propaganda being disseminated regarding Venezuela. For instance, although prominent Western news media outlets regularly refer to President Nicolás Maduro as a “dictator,” the Bolivarian leader was actually democratically elected — twice — in an electoral system that is far superior to those of many developed nations.

Alan MacLeod, whose Ph.D. dissertation detailed Western media coverage of Venezuela, has pointed out that “the [2018 presidential election] process was watched over by 150 international observers from over 30 countries,” and that the Venezuelan voting system has been lauded for its transparency and openness. The Carter Center for Fair Elections said the electoral process in Venezuela is “the best in the world.” Five additional candidates participated in the 2018 election, and none of them disputed the results. In addition, as journalist Caleb T. Maupin explained:

“The vote is held on a weekend in order to ensure that people do not miss out on the opportunity to vote because they have to work. Citizens register to vote with their thumbprints, so that no one can vote claiming to be someone else.” “An electronic tally is taken by the voting machines, but each voter receives a printed receipt showing who they voted for. The printed receipts are collected, and 53 percent of the country’s voting centers undergo official audit to assure that the printed receipts match the numbers of the electronic tally after the polls close. The audits are held publicly, and observers from political parties must sign the audits to confirm they were legitimate. Venezuela is the only country in the world to have a public audit of the vote on Election Night.”

Regardless of America’s ongoing meddling, millions of Venezuelans still support President Maduro (though many “Chavistas” certainly have their criticisms). Polling data has shown that the main political opposition party actually has less support than Maduro, and the military (as of now) still displays strong support for the president. Within Venezuela, the people are aware that, although Maduro has made some mistakes, he is not primarily to blame for the current crisis. Inflation has been a major problem (beginning in 2013 with a dramatic drop in oil prices), but the two additional causes that are seldom discussed are the brutal U.S. sanctions (which began under Obama and are illegal under international law), and the economic sabotage being waged against the government by large Venezuelan companies.

In conjunction with its ceaseless misinformation campaigns, the U.S. has also been funding the right-wing opposition since the early 2000s (leading up to a failed coup attempt against then-president Hugo Chavez in 2002). These factions are fundamentally opposed to the grassroots democracy of the Bolivarian process. First of all, they overwhelmingly represent the business interests of the oligarchy, and secondly, they have engaged in acts of terrorism including assassinations, lynchings, and bombings.