In Venezuela, the government of President Nicolás Maduro has won a majority of victories in local elections nationwide. Maduro’s coalition won 196 of 337 mayoral races, although it lost in Venezuela’s two largest cities. Maduro’s opponent, Henrique Capriles, had billed the local races as a referendum on Maduro’s government, but received just 42 percent of the overall vote compared to Maduro’s 49 percent. Maduro beat Capriles in presidential elections earlier this year shortly after the death of Hugo Chávez. Venezuela is facing major economic challenges with high inflation, power cuts and shortages of basic goods. Maduro has vowed to deepen a government campaign to force major retailers to cut prices on essential goods after accusing them of price fixing.