The Venezuelan opposition enters a key week. Chavismo has imposed the electoral agenda and has vetoed the participation of María Corina Machado, disqualified after a judicial trick. In a few days, the seven-day period for candidate nominations that are made online through the platform of the National Electoral Council opens. Nicolás Maduro has already been anointed by his people. The Unitary Platform maintains its support for Machado, elected with more than two million votes in uphill primaries that were successful, who will not be able to register.
In a message on her social networks, the candidate has assured that she remains on the electoral route, but has left in the air the veto on her candidacy will not prevent the opposition from having an option in the presidential elections set for July 28. “Rest assured that I will make the right decisions to advance on this path, with the participation and support of all sectors that want urgent change in Venezuela.”
Although Machado has not expressly said it, the dilemma of registering a substitute to whom the leader can raise her hand and in some way endorse her political capital should be resolved soon, since the schedule is ticking. From the 21st to the 25th, applicants will be able to register through the CNE digital platform. In his message he has told the Government about the paths it can take: “Facilitate a negotiated transition through free presidential elections within the framework of the Barbados agreement” or go for the option of snatching the election the hard way. “This is the worst option for everyone and furthermore, it would not prevent the transition, since neither the country nor the world will accept it. “They can delay the transition but not prevent it,” he assured. Machado asked for serenity and has summoned to his side not only those who were Chavistas but also the current bases of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela. “What is Maduro afraid of? “He fears the overwhelming will of the country that wants change,” he said. “Never in 25 years have we had 80% support for a presidential election. “Hand won is not blocked.”
Everything indicates that Manuel Rosales, the governor of the state of Zulia, founder of A New Time, and fundamental leader of the Venezuelan opposition, is interested in being, by consensus or rejection, presidential candidate of the democratic currents. Luis Emilio Rondón, one of his trusted men, has publicly put his name on the table, as a potential man of unity in the event of an inevitable replacement of María Corina Machado. Rosales, who was already a candidate in 2006, has demanded an end to international sanctions, and is one of the few opposition politicians who has some type of political relationship with Maduro. The card of Un Nuevo Tiempo, a moderate social democratic party that is part of the Unitary Platform, is one of the few authorized by the National Electoral Council to participate in the race.
During the weekend, the authorities purged the list of parties authorized to participate. In addition to UNT's position, that of the Democratic Unity Roundtable was admitted, the most voted for by the opposition in recent years, to which Chavismo opposed a card zombie, that of MIN-Unidad, which replicates some of its symbols. Of the 34 organizations admitted, 11 were judicially intervened in recent years to impose directives related to Chavismo. The rest are small-scale organizations and allies of Maduro. The electoral schedule advances in the opening of the electoral registry in some points in squares of the country and, abroad, with protests by Venezuelans who found that the consulates were not prepared for the day.
The parties of the Unitary Platform, which do not have particularly good relations with Machado, have publicly declared that they are willing to follow his guidelines to strengthen the electoral route, a path on which this time there is absolute consensus. Behind closed doors, however, the conversations are tense, with opposing interests, and also pressured by urgency. Manuel Rosales, some voices point out, does not have much chance of being accepted by María Corina Machado's political team.
Machado has certain levels of popularity and has built a movement with political capital much greater than that of the politicians of the Unitary Platform, although his leadership operates in a threatening and dangerous context. It does not seem at all likely that he will decide to decline, yield or surrender his leadership in an agreed process to cede his power to other factors. The sources consulted, very secretive, who recognize the internal tension, indicate that what is necessary will be done to guide any agreement. But in Machado's terms.
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