Mayor of Venezuelan enclave in South Florida expects swell following elections

The western Miami suburb of Doral, a Venezuelan enclave, expects a surge of new residents from the South American country after this week’s disputed presidential elections in Caracas, the Miami Herald reported.

Venezuela’s National Election Council announced Sunday night that the late Hugo Chávez’s hand-picked successor, Nicolás Maduro, had won the presidential election by a thin margin of about one percent. Doral Mayor Luigi Boria, who became the first Venezuelan mayor in Florida when he was voted into office last November, told the Miami Herald the city’s Venezuelan population could swell from 50,000 to 70,000 residents by 2015.

Last year Doral’s government approved real estate projects to develop about 6,000 new homes within two years. Some residents have criticized the deal, saying the mayor’s children stand to profit because their Grand Floridian development company has plans to build a luxury residential area in the city. [Miami Herald] — Emily Schmall