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What Happened to Venezuela’s Democracy?
A movement started by Hugo Chávez, promising power to the people, became an authoritarian regime, one that opponents say just stole an election.
By Julie Turkewitz
I cover Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. Most recently I have been focused on migration, specifically the record number of people making the trek through a dangerous jungle called the Darién in an effort to make it to the United States. With my photographer colleague Federico Rios I have crossed this jungle twice, documenting the journey for The Times.
I have been working for The Times in South America since 2019, writing often about the effects of an ongoing economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. In particular, my work has focused on the way this crisis has stripped women of access to contraceptives and meaningful care during pregnancy. Prior to moving to Colombia, I was a national reporter, covering the Rocky Mountain region of the U.S., based in Denver. I often wrote about indigenous voter rights, public lands, gun culture and the opioid crisis. I began my career with The Times in 2012 in New York, where I was a freelancer, reporting on breaking news around the city. I also wrote about the city’s immigrant communities and worked as a Spanish-speaking reporter on a major investigation into the city’s nail salon industry. I studied journalism at the University of North Carolina, and I was born in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Journalistic independence is essential to my work, and as a Times journalist I adhere to the standards of integrity outlined in The Times’s Ethical Journalism handbook. This means that it is my role to explore and document multiple points of view and present them to our readers. It is not my role to advocate for one particular idea, party or policy. Because my work brings me to many parts of the world that are often difficult for readers and policymakers to access, I often view myself as a conduit through which different groups of people, who might never meet, are exposed to a common set of facts.
Email is the best way to reach me.
Email: julie@nytimes.com
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A movement started by Hugo Chávez, promising power to the people, became an authoritarian regime, one that opponents say just stole an election.
By Julie Turkewitz
President Nicolás Maduro’s government ejected seven diplomatic missions from countries that condemned his claim of victory, which he made despite reports of fraud.
By Frances Robles, Jack Nicas and Alejandro Cegarra
Plus, a deadly attack raises Mideast tensions.
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The result, which would give Nicolás Maduro six more years as president, was disputed by the opposition, and the United States said it had “serious concerns.”
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Sunday’s vote could end a generation of control by Venezuela’s socialist party. It could also usher in a period of profound uncertainty.
By Anatoly Kurmanaev, Frances Robles and Julie Turkewitz
After years of repressive government and economic collapse, many Venezuelans think this weekend’s election might be different.
By Sabrina Tavernise, Julie Turkewitz, Carlos Prieto, Clare Toeniskoetter, Olivia Natt, Mooj Zadie, Liz O. Baylen, Michael Benoist, Dan Powell, Marion Lozano and Chris Wood
Spurned by the country’s authoritarian president and even her own colleagues in the opposition, María Corina Machado has built the most significant voter mobilization since Hugo Chávez.
By Julie Turkewitz, Isayen Herrera and Adriana Loureiro Fernandez
As many as one-third of Venezuelans would consider migrating if the country’s authoritarian leader is given another six years in power in an election set for July 28, one poll showed.
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After facing down the general who tried to oust him, President Luis Arce is battling a more formidable figure, Evo Morales, a former president who wants to reclaim power.
By Julie Turkewitz, María Silvia Trigo and Genevieve Glatsky
The general declared he was leading an effort to “re-establish democracy,” but he and other members of the armed forces later pulled back after trying to storm the presidential palace.
By Julie Turkewitz, Genevieve Glatsky and María Silvia Trigo