委内瑞拉总统赢得第二个六年任期

Venezuelan President Wins Second Six-Year Term

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro won re-election in a disputed vote on Sunday.

The result led his main political opponents to call for another vote to prevent a national crisis.

Venezuela’s National Election Council announced that Maduro won nearly 68 percent of the votes Sunday. It said he defeated Henri Falcon¹ by more than 40 points.

Falcon accused the Maduro government of buying votes and dirty tricks to increase the number of poor Venezuelans voting. Falcon refused to recognize the results, and said the election “lacks legitimacy².” Falcon told supporters that he will fight on instead of joining others in exile.

Third-place finisher Javier Bertucci agreed on the need for new elections. Venezuelan officials say Bertucci won around 11 percent of the vote. He urged the president against being a candidate in a re-vote. Bertucci warned that if Maduro pressed forward, Venezuela would explode before his new six-year term begins in January.

International pressures

Maduro’s disputed victory is likely to raise international pressure on the Venezuelan leader. On Monday, the United States government announced economic sanctions to punish Venezuela for what officials called its “fraudulent” election. President Donald Trump³ signed an order that bars Americans from dealing⁴ with Venezuela’s oil industry.

The European Union and some Latin American countries also warned that the presidential election was not fair.

Chilean president Sebastian Pinera, said, “Venezuela’s elections do not meet minimum standards of true democracy.” He added that, “Chile does not recognize these elections.” Panama’s government also said it would not recognize the results.

But Cuba and El Salvador, two allies of Venezuela, sent their congratulations on the vote.

Venezuela’s economic crisis

Maduro called for discussions with his defeated opponents, but he showed no sign of wanting new elections. He told supporters, “It doesn’t faze me when they say I’m a dictator.”

The Venezuelan leader promised to repair an economy he says has been damaged by Colombia and the U.S.

In the past two years, more than 1 million Venezuelans have fled to neighboring countries as the value of the national currency dropped.

Venezuela’s oil production — the source of almost all of its overseas earnings⁵ — has collapsed⁶ to its lowest level. And U.S. government sanctions have made it impossible for Venezuela to renegotiate its debts.

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

legitimacy – n. the state of being lawful⁷ or rightful

sanction – n. a measure designed to punish a nation for violating international law

fraudulent - adj. done to trick someone with the goal of getting something valuable

minimum – adj. the lowest level or amount permitted

standard – n. a measure or level of quality

faze – v. to make someone feel afraid or worried

currency – n. paper money; money that a country uses

1 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

2 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

6 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

7 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。