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polls opened on Sunday morning as Venezuelans began choosing a new Congress.
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It's an election that the opposition is boycotting a most Western nations call a fraud by President Nicolas Maduro to retake the last state institution, not in the hands of the ruling Socialist Party.
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The vote is almost certain to return Congress to Maduro's allies.
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That's despite his government struggling with an economy in ruins, aggressive US sanctions that stifle the OPEC nations, oil exports on the migration of some five million citizens.
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Members of the new Congress will have few tools to improve the lives of Venezuelans, whose monthly salaries rarely cover the cost of a day's groceries.
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Nor will their election improved Maduro's reputation among Western nations for mismanagement and undermining of human rights.
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It could, however, provide legitimacy for Maduro, so offer investment deals to the few companies around the world willing to risk running afoul of Washington sanctions access to the world's largest oil reserves.
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Opposition leader Wang Guido, head of the current congress, is calling on Venezuelans to skip the vote and participate in a consultation that will ask citizens if they reject Sunday's vote whether they want to change of government.
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Guido has been recognized by more than 50 countries, including the United States.
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A Sven is way La's legitimate interim president after most Western nations disavowed Maduro's 2018 reelection as fraudulent.