Maduro's supporters all have one thing in common

It's interesting to note the various international reactions to Venezuela's current consitutional woes.

A week ago, Juan Guaidó, the head of Venezuela's National Assembly and principal opposition to President Nicolás Maduro, unilaterally declared himself acting President of the country on an interim basis, with the professed intention of calling a legitimate election. Maduro, following in the footsteps of his mentor Hugo Chávez, has presided over the economic collapse of this once-wealthy country, and his re-election last year was almost universally panned as illegitimate and fraudulent. Guaidó's move is not a coup as such, not involving any military intervention (the military, after years of kickbacks and preferential political and corporate postings, is largely loyal to Maduro, although that could change), and he has justified his declaration on legal and constitutional grounds. Guaidó's move is seen as widely popular among the Venezuela people, who have suffered for decades under Chávez and Maduro, notwithstanding some strong continued support for Maduro among some demographics.

Within hours of Guaidó's announcement (suggesting a certain amount of prior knowledge), most North and South American countries declared their support for Guaidó, including most of the so-called Lima Group (Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Ecuador, Peru, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panamá, and fellow Lima Group member Canada), as well as USA, UK, Australia and Japan. Most European countries hedged their bets, calling for free elections first, even though the likelihood of free and fair elections while Maduro is still in power is very slim. Mexico, also a member of the Lima Group, has. for whatever reasons of its own, remained doggedly silent.

A small group of countries, though, have been outspoken in their continued support for Maduro: China, Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Turkey, Iran, Syria. And what do these countries all have in common? Autocratic leaders with a marked disdain for the democratic process. Coincidence? I think not.

UPDATE

The UK, France, Germany, Spain and 12 other European leaders have now all recognized Guidó, after Maduro (predictably) rejected the European deadline to call election.