Kim Min-jeon (left), a lawmaker from the People Power Party, and Kim Jae-won, a supreme council member of the same party, sit side by side with worried expressions. [Photo=Yonhap News]

The term "enchufados" is flooding social media.

While the word literally means "plugged in" in Spanish, in South American politics, it is used to mean "colluded" or "in cahoots," much like a plug meeting a socket.

The reason why Maduro and Chávez were able to maintain power in Venezuela for 27 years is often attributed to these "enchufados."

Maduro's Dictatorship: A Product of Election Fraud and a Fake Ruling Party

How could Maduro and the ruling party in Venezuela win successive elections when the nation has plummeted from the world's fourth-largest economy to a bottom-tier impoverished country, forcing 7 million citizens to declare "this is unbearable" and risk their lives crossing borders?

There are two main reasons for this. The first is election fraud. Smartmatic has been stealing votes in Venezuela since 2004 by providing election technology services. This is a fact even acknowledged by Smartmatic CEO Antonio Mugica.

And the role of the "fake opposition," the "enchufados" colluding with the ruling party, made this possible.

Election fraud is a very dangerous endeavor. If caught, the public will not stand idly by. However, if an opposition leader emerges who absorbs the public's dissatisfaction and calms them down with "whoa, whoa," buying time, the uprising is delayed as much as possible.

According to a video uploaded to the YouTube channel "Yuntarta" recently, Henrique Capriles, who vehemently called for Maduro's ouster with strong language, is cited as a prime example of an "enchufado."

Capriles strongly raised suspicions of election fraud in the 2013 presidential election and announced large-scale protests. It was a moment when the country could have been turned upside down.

However, at the last moment, he abruptly withdrew the march and announced he would engage in dialogue with the government. While outwardly making plausible statements about the public's safety and absorbing the struggle into the established system, it ultimately served only as a means to secure his own position.

Henrique Capriles, who led the fake opposition in Venezuela. [AP=EL PAÍS]

He even maintained his parliamentary seat until 2025 through election fraud, despite criticizing it. While he pretended to respond aggressively, he did not disrupt the system at all even as Maduro massacred nearly 20,000 dissidents, and he safely secured his political stake.

Is the Issue of Election Fraud "Spitting in the Sky"?

Amidst this, a recent Facebook post by Kim Min-jeon, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, has sent shockwaves through the patriotic conservative right.

On the evening of the 17th, Rep. Kim stated, "The video from the Seongbuk vote counting station in the 2020 general election was a shock to me," but explained that the "stiff ballots" were that way because they were in envelopes, and the "ballots with incorrect margins" had their margins cut off when opening the envelopes.

However, she also maintained her stance on election fraud by saying, "I thought it was physically impossible to explain ballots where the tops were neatly attached like a bundle of receipts."

She then added, "Lawmakers from the People Power Party elected in the 2024 general election, including myself, have proposed various amendments, such as abolishing early voting. However, we had no way to pass bills because numbers matter and we lacked seats. In that context, President Yoon sent soldiers to the National Election Commission," referring to President Yoon Suk-yeol's martial law.

The problematic remarks came later.

"Some people might think, 'Why not make election fraud a central issue in the 2026 election?' However, the problem is that the issue of election fairness and transparency is likely to become 'spitting in the sky.'"

"First, the majority of voters are unaware of the issues of election fairness and transparency. In such a situation, if you appear to be complaining about the rules of the game, it's difficult to make a good impression on voters (as seen by how many people understand internal party issues as merely insulting the president and his wife on some obscure private bulletin board)."

"Second, and a bigger problem, is that if we campaign for only in-person voting while raising issues with early voting, our party's supporters will only be able to vote for one day, whereas the opposing party can vote for four days. Due to such self-contradiction, we cannot make the issues of the election system a primary focus during the election campaign period."

Rep. Kim then proposed sending well-trained young people as observers, stating that the Trump campaign used numerous lawyers to monitor election fraud.

She also stated, "Even if the party does not make election fraud a primary issue, I believe we must respect voluntary movements by voters," and sincerely wished that "those who question the reliability of elections should not be disappointed or angry that the party is not making this a core issue."

Finally, she concluded by saying, "I believe we must go forward together as allies, even though we are different. This is because I believe that on the day we become the majority party, the system of on-site voting and on-site counting, like in European countries, will be realized."

Immediately after this post was published, comments calling her an "enchufado" flooded in, indicating significant backlash from netizens. Some comments questioned how the party could become the majority party if election fraud continues.

There were also posts expressing disappointment that Kim Min-jeon, along with Jang Dong-hyuk, Kim Min-soo, and Yoon Sang-hyun, were of the same ilk, let alone Lee Jun-seok, Han Dong-hoon, and Bae Hyun-jin.

The public, who thought the People Power Party had simply lost its way, is deeply frustrated to realize that these individuals were, in fact, "enchufados."

Just as Henrique Capriles, who criticized election fraud, ended up acting as a fake ruling party member to secure his position within the existing political framework, is the People Power Party also comprised of "enchufados" who do not wish to break free from the system?

Reporter Im Yo-hee