Venezuela stands out in the Copa America and gives hope amid the political crisis

Less than a month before the elections in Venezuela and with political tensions escalating, the national team’s brilliant performance in the America Cup football has generated a new wave of hope among Venezuelans inside and outside the country.

La Vinotinto — as the team is known — completed the first phase of the tournament in the United States with an unprecedented full house of victories, emulating what was achieved by the powerhouses Argentina and Uruguay. This is the first time since the tournament began in 1967 that it has finished at the top of its group. Under the direction of Argentine coach Fernando Batista, Venezuela will face Canada on Friday in the quarterfinals.

Venezuela, the only team in South America that has never qualified for a top-flight World Cup, has left behind the eternal label of the weakest in South America. At the same time, it has filled the streets with joy and hope for millions.

In a country plagued for years by a severe economic and social crisis that has triggered mass migration, football has been an oasis of encounter, breaking down political divisions and lifting morale. On the three dates of Group B, hundreds of people from all over Caracas flocked to Las Mercedes square, a prosperous neighborhood in the east of the capital, where a giant screen shows the tournament matches.

Javier Ledezma, 22, went to watch the match against Ecuador on the first weekend of the tournament and was overjoyed when the team came back in the second half to win 2-1. The player dreams of seeing the team in the World Cup, the dream of every football fan in Venezuela.

“I came here for the love of Vinotinto,” said Ledezma. “If we qualify for the World Cup, I will get the team’s new crest tattooed on me,” recently presented as part of the renewal of the national team.

Venezuela has been winning all the time, beating Mexico 1-0 and then Jamaica 3-0. These victories are a consolation for many Venezuelans hit by the country’s long-standing difficulties and the tensions that are rising ahead of the presidential elections on July 28.

The team has sparked hope in Venezuelans of all social classes. Not everyone has enough money to travel to the east of Caracas to watch the games, but in this situation, a television at their doorstep is a good alternative.

Andrés Osuna, a 23-year-old student, said his family and neighbors gathered in the working-class neighborhood of Catia — one of the most populated in Latin America — to watch the game against Mexico.

Together with his mother, he decided to buy a television and place it outside their house, where they frequently sell beer and food to the neighbors.

As they struggled with the unstable signal, stopping transmission at key parts of the game, the group cheered with joy when Salomon Rondon scored a penalty goal. But the loudest cheering in unison came when goalkeeper Rafael Romo saved a penalty near the end.

If they emerge victorious in the quarterfinals, Venezuela would emulate a repeat of their best performance, the semifinals in 2011. La Vinotinto was eliminated after losing on penalties to Paraguay. The team’s results have improved since the 2007 edition of the Copa América. In its 13 previous participations, it had only achieved one victory — and that was in its first appearance, beating Bolivia 3-0.

Unlike in the past, most of the squad plays for clubs abroad, something unthinkable in the last century when coaches had few options to complete a roster with sufficient conditions to compete at international level.

Baseball is the number one sport in the country, but this time it’s baseball’s turn, with more people seduced by the positive results of a team whose jersey could well be the only thing in common these days.

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