The day of the elections was full of emotions, I had great hope that they would be the answer to my wishes. All the people in the country and abroad were in expectation.
The day had been very civic and a high percentage of the population attended the voting centers.
My daughter and I arrived home around ten o'clock at night. We were ready to celebrate the victory. Days before, she had told me.
"Mom, we are going to buy food, candles, batteries and other things to have in case of emergency because we don't know what could happen".
"It's true, daughter, we have to be foresighted". That same day, in the afternoon, when the sun had gone down a little, we went to the supermarket.
There were a lot of people on the street doing last minute shopping. We bought groceries and mostly canned goods, and as we passed by the beverage section, I stopped.
"We have to celebrate when they give the results", I told her, "let's buy a bottle of sangria", a drink based on red wine and fruit juice, very popular in our country.
"Not one!, mom, we are going to buy two bottles, we have to toast, and we will get drunk" she told me jokingly.
So the night of the presidential elections, the bottles were chilling in the refrigerator, waiting for the moment when the official results would be announced.
Messages with the results of each polling station in my state and in other states of the country were already being passed through the networks, and the excitement was very great, because I could not wait for the results to be announced.
My daughter and I sat at the dining room table, listening to the telephones, while outside voices, music and rockets were being launched. The data indicated that the victory of the opposition candidate was already certain.
"I'm going to get a bottle of sangria, which should be very cold". My daughter opened the refrigerator door and took out a bottle with the glass already frosted.
"Perfect, I'll go get the glasses. It won't be long before we start celebrating"
The phones kept sending and receiving messages. My children wrote me to know what was going on. They lived out of the country. I was writing to my sisters to know how the situation was in Caracas. The networks were overcrowded.
Finally, after a few hours, the first official bulletin was released.
At that moment it was as if a bomb fell on us and its shockwave shook us.
The results showed the other candidate, the current president of the country, as the winner by a wide margin.
I was speechless for a few seconds, and the glass with the sangria he had just poured for me remained in my hand. I didn't manage to drink it. Furthermore, I could not believe what was happening.
"It can't be", I kept repeating over and over again, and I put both hands to my head.
"Calm down, mom!, let's wait and see what else they say". My daughter was trying to remain optimistic in the face of adversity.
"What are we going to wait for? I told her with a broken voice, they did it again, They cheated and changed the result".
I got up from my chair and walked out to the balcony. The night was cool and there was a great silence in the street.
I felt as if I had no energy in my body and I remember that at that moment of despair I asked God: Why, again, is this nightmare not going to end?
I had no more energy, and my daughter and I went to bed.
The next day, again, the protests, the repression, the pronouncements, everything contrary to what I had imagined in my mind would happen. The reality was different, and I could do nothing to change it. It was out of my control and the impotence filled me with rage.
That day, my daughter and I slowly drank the bottles of sangria to relieve the sadness. I could not let what happened overcome me. After that news and the news that followed affected me sensitively, I calmed down and filled myself with good energy, hope and faith.
Versión en Español
El día de las elecciones fue de muchas emociones, tenía una gran esperanza en que fueran la respuesta a mis deseos. Todas las personas en el país y fuera de él estaban a la expectativa.
La jornada había sido muy cívica y un alto porcentaje de la población asistió a los centros de votación.
Mi hija y yo llegamos a la casa como a las diez de la noche. Estábamos preparadas para festejar la victoria. Días antes ella me había dicho.
—Mamá, vamos a comprar comida, velas, pilas y otras cosas para tener en caso de emergencia porque no sabemos qué puede pasar.
—Buena idea hija, hay que ser previsivos. —Ese mismo día, en la tarde, cuando había bajado un poco la intensidad del sol, nos fuimos al supermercado.
Había mucha gente en la calle haciendo compras de último momento. Compramos víveres y sobre todo enlatados, y al pasar por la sección de las bebidas, me detuve.
—¡Mira hija! tenemos que celebrar cuando den los resultados y vamos a comprar una botella de sangría, una bebida a base de vino tinto y jugo de frutas, muy popular en nuestro país.
—Una no, mamá, vamos a comprar dos botellas, hay que brindar y nos embriagaremos, —me dijo en broma.
Así que la noche de las elecciones presidenciales, las botellas estaban enfriándose en el refrigerador, esperando el momento en el cual comenzaran a dar los resultados oficiales.
Por las redes ya se estaban pasando mensajes con los resultados de cada mesa de votación en mi estado y en otros estados del país, y la emoción era muy grande, pues eran favorables.
Mi hija y yo nos sentamos en la mesa del comedor, pendientes de los teléfonos, mientras afuera se escuchaban voces, música y se lanzaban cohetes. Los datos indicaban que la victoria del candidato de la oposición era ya segura.
—Voy a sacar una botella de sangría, que debe estar bien fría. Abrió la puerta de la nevera y sacó una botella con el vidrio ya con escarcha.
—¡Perfecto hija!, yo voy a buscar los vasos. Falta muy poco para empezar a celebrar.
Los teléfonos no dejaban de enviar y de recibir mensajes. Mis hijos me escribían para saber qué estaba ocurriendo. Ellos vivían fuera del país. Yo les escribía a mis hermanas para saber cómo estaba la situación en Caracas. Las redes estaban abarrotadas.
Por fin, después de unas horas, dieron el primer boletín oficial.
En ese momento fue como si cayera una bomba sobre nosotras y su onda expansiva nos sacudiera.
Los resultados daban como ganador al otro candidato, por amplio margen.
Yo me quedé sin hablar por unos segundos y el vaso con la sangría que me acababa de servir se me quedó en la mano. No alcancé a tomarlo. No podía creer lo que estaba sucediendo.
—No puede ser, —repetía una y otra vez y me llevé las dos manos a la cabeza.
—¡Cálmate, mamá!, vamos a esperar a ver qué más dicen. —Mi hija trataba de mantener el optimismo ante la adversidad.
—¿Qué vamos a esperar?,lo volvieron a hacer. ¡Hicieron trampa! y cambiaron el resultado.
Me paré de la silla y me fui hasta el balcón. La noche estaba fresca y había un gran silencio en la calle.
Sentí como si no tuviera energía en mi cuerpo y recuerdo que en ese momento de desesperación le pregunté a Dios: ¿Por qué de nuevo? ¿Es que esta pesadilla no se va a terminar?
Ya no tenía ánimo para más nada y mi hija y yo nos fuimos a acostar.
Al día siguiente, de nuevo, las protestas, la represión, los pronunciamientos, todo lo contrario a lo que en mi mente me había imaginado que sucedería. La realidad era otra y no podía hacer nada para cambiarla. Estaba fuera de mi control y la impotencia me llenó de rabia.
Ese día mi hija y yo nos fuimos tomando poco a poco las botellas de sangría para aliviar la tristeza. No podía dejar que lo que ocurrió me venciera. Después de que esa noticia y las que le siguieron me afectaran sensiblemente, la calma llegó ,me llené de buenas energías, de esperanza y de fe.
La traducción al inglés lo realicé en www.deepl.com
It's painful when an election that's meant to be free and fair turns out to be the opposite. I hope things get better.
A hug 🌻✨️Thank you very much dear @balikis95 for your good wishes. I hope it will be soon too.
You are welcome. A bigger one up to you as well.
Corruption might not end, ever. Expections can take us very high, so high we are not realistic somehow.
That is true, reality is not always what we want and we have to accept it and that does not mean that it cannot change at some point. Because life surprises us.
Regards ✨️ Thank you very much @gbmr for your comment.
Greetings 🌼Thank you very much @theinkwell.
Leaders like to hold on to power. If not all, but far majority. It is one of the greatest levels of corruption to subvert the will of the people. It's really pathetic. A very similar experience in many countries including mine.
I really appreciate your comment and empathy. It is a reality we share and it is painful that it keeps happening because of the greed and lust for power.
Greetings @lightpen y felíz noche ✨️