Joining our brand new podcast is Jeremy Fox, who discusses his conclusions as an observer of Venezuela’s 2018 presidential election and the current attempted coup in the country.

Alborada Radio is a brand new podcast which aims to generate leftwing discussion and debate on Latin American politics, culture and media.

For the first episode of our brand new podcast, Alborada co-editor Nick MacWilliam is joined by Jeremy Fox, a British-Canadian writer and journalist who was an official electoral observer of Venezuela’s 2018 election.

Jeremy talks about his experience and conclusions as an observer of the election which is at the centre of the ongoing attempted coup in Venezuela, in which the United States and several of its allies have backed Juan Guaidó as Venezuelan president following his self-proclamation on 23 January.

With President Nicolás Maduro refusing to stand down, the situation has grown increasingly tense and the US and Guaidó have threatened military intervention.

Much of what’s happening now hinges on the 2018 presidential election won by Maduro but boycotted by the opposition. Maduro’s opponents say the election was fraudulent and therefore he is an illegitimate president. Others, however, including former US president Jimmy Carter have previously said that Venezuela’s electoral system is the best in the world.

Accompanying Jeremy were more than 100 other observers, including high profile political figures such as Spain’s former prime minister José Zapatero and Ecuador’s former president Rafael Correa.

Last year Jeremy wrote an article for Alborada about his experience observing the election.

You can also listen to this episode via our Soundcloud page.