Venezuela election could see seismic shift or give Nicolas Maduro six more years

Venezuelans are voting in a presidential election the outcome of which will either lead to a seismic shift in politics or extend by another six years the policies that caused the world’s worst peacetime economic collapse (Matias Delacroix/AP)

The people of Venezuela are voting in a presidential election the outcome of which will either lead to a seismic shift in politics or extend by another six years the policies that caused the world’s worst peacetime economic collapse.

Whether it is President Nicolas Maduro who is chosen, or his main opponent, retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez, the election will have ripple effects throughout the Americas.