The white smoke from which Edmundo González Urrutia emerged as the candidate to represent the Venezuelan opposition in the presidential elections on July 28 has not put an end to the uncertainties. The National Electoral Council (CNE) extended on Friday for 72 hours the deadline to make modifications to the nominations and in that extra time the parties that supported Manuel Rosales, after his resignation to support the diplomat elected by consensus with the Unitary Platform, have not able to add their support. These are the cards from Un Nuevo Tiempo, Movimiento Progresista por Venezuela and Fuerza Vecinal that would become an additional window to the Democratic Unity Table card so that opponents can vote. The deadline expires in a few hours and the accessions have not yet been completed the day before.
With the failures of the CNE's automated system, as occurred a month ago with the registration of candidates, Chavismo once again makes the path difficult for Nicolás Maduro's competitors. These obstacles translate into the reduction of options on the electoral card to support González Urrutia, who until now would only be registered by the Democratic Unity Table card, the so-called hand card, which has obtained the most votes. in recent electoral history and on which judicial threats also weigh. The diplomat was the third name presented by the Unitary Platform in the period of nominations, after disqualifying María Corina Machado, the candidate elected in primaries who concentrates the greatest popular support, and preventing the registration – without any argument – of her replacement Corina Yoris. González Urrutia entered last, as the 13th candidate in the race.
This is precisely one of the ways in which Chavismo could disrupt the consensus achieved last week. González Urrutia's application received no challenges and he has not been disqualified in the past either. But the MUD party card has been dead before. In 2018, the Supreme Court of Justice invalidated it under a legal twist that allowed it to allege that since the coalition brought together several parties, it could engage in double militancy prohibited by law. This is how the opposition was left without a place on the card and also without leaders qualified to compete against Maduro who, that year, was re-elected for a second term in elections tailored to his needs in which his legitimacy began to be broken, as he did not be recognized by a large part of the international community. But the 2021 negotiations revived the MUD and the CNE allowed the organization to appear in the 2021 gubernatorial and mayoral elections, which had international observation and were organized by a CNE then led by the board of rectors, the most balanced in years. , also formed under negotiation.
Those who could
Former presidential candidate Luis Ratti this Monday supported the candidacy of Luis Eduardo Martínez, nominated by the intervened Democratic Action party. A month ago he went to the highest court to file an appeal for annulment with the intention of reactivating the death certificate that had been given to the MUD in 2018 under the argument of double militancy. This is one of the threats that could shake González Urrutia's ability to compete.
Unlike the obstacles that the opposition has had, in this extra time given by the CNE for the modification of the nominations, it has been possible to obtain support among the candidates of the Democratic Alliance that integrates factors that identify themselves as opponents, but they have acted as operators of Chavismo. In addition to Ratti, Juan Carlos Alvarado (Copei party intervened judicially) processed his support for the candidacy of Luis Eduardo Martínez. The TSJ has also produced movements on other opposition parties this Monday. After having the Primero Justicia party in legal limbo for three years, the Constitutional Chamber returns control of the party to José Brito, presidential candidate of the scorpion group, so that the board of directors he presides restructure the organization of which they are a part politicians like Henrique Capriles Radonski.
The steps taken by Chavismo show that the dispersion of the vote between various proposals of the so-called scorpions – opponents who actually serve as bishops of Chavismo – does not so much threaten the division of the opposition, but rather endangers Maduro's votes. The PSUV candidate arrives at these elections with the lowest popular support in a decade in the Government, compared to the enormous support that María Corina Machado has capitalized on and it remains to be seen if he manages to endorse González Urrutia, the candidate who did not want to be. and since he was chosen he has only updated his profile photo on social networks and posted a couple of messages accepting the candidacy and promising that he will speak soon.
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