In what appears to be a deeply unfair election riddled with irregularities, Venezuelan’s authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, seems to have survived once again.The outcome, which is already facing challenges and unrest that could grow in the coming days, is not just a disappointment for the opposition and the millions of Venezuelans yearning for democratic change. The election was a crucial test of the durability of the new brand of authoritarianism gripping the Americas — and it has proved that the movement may not fade away anytime soon.

Across the Western Hemisphere, democracy is being snuffed out or seriously challenged. Over the past 20 years, Venezuela, Nicaragua and El Salvador have slid into dictatorships. In late 2022, Peru’s president sought to dissolve its legislature, although he landed in jail. Guatemala had a close call last year, with the attorney general’s office attempting to prevent a peaceful transition of power. And it remains to be seen whether Mexico’s recently elected President Claudia Sheinbaum will continue the erosion of democratic checks and balances that her predecessor began.

It’s not a universally grim picture. Elsewhere — in Brazil, Chile, Colombia and the United States — democracy is succeeding. But it is being tested as the opposition to pluralism and inclusion grows, and social unrest and dissatisfaction with the government spreads against a backdrop of stark inequality and institutional instability.

Venezuela’s election is a fulcrum moment for the Americas. Despite high turnout, there were numerous reports of voting irregularities, voter intimidation and problems at voting centers. Nevertheless, with 80 percent of the votes counted, the nation’s electoral council declared Mr. Maduro the winner with 51.2 percent of the vote compared with 44.2 percent for his main rival. Because officials at many voting centers refused to hand over paper copies of the vote tallies, the opposition had no immediate way to concretely point to a different outcome.

If Mr. Maduro can ride out the postelection turmoil and remain in office another full term, it will be a green light to other budding autocrats in the region that they, too, can act with near impunity. Sham elections, human rights abuses and corruption could spread if there is not organized international pushback against them, while the voice of domestic constituencies are weakened by repression. The backsliding of democracy has happened before: Many nascent democracies in Latin America collapsed during the Cold War only to be resurrected after its end.

So far, Mr. Maduro has done everything he can to cling to power. Before the election, his government barred the opposition’s most popular candidate from running for president, made it harder for millions of Venezuelans living abroad to vote and used state resources to dominate media coverage and run his campaign. He even tried to rebrand himself as more likable on social media to connect with voters who are too young to remember when Venezuela was a flourishing democracy.