In Venezuela, the opposition in dispersed order for the legislative elections

Audio 02:34

Poster of the legislative election campaign in Caracas.

© Marie Normand / RFI

By: Marie Normand Follow

6 min

This Sunday, Venezuelans are called to vote to renew the National Assembly.

Five years ago, it was the opposition that largely won the ballot.

The start of a deep political crisis with the executive, which gradually nibbled away the powers of this Assembly which found itself totally paralyzed.

Today, twenty-seven opposition parties have agreed not to participate in the poll which they describe as fraud.

But ten other parties are playing the game of these elections and are finding some support in the working-class neighborhoods.

Publicity

Marlene Lujano, 61, lives in a small apartment in the heart of Petare, a poor neighborhood in Caracas.

Officially, she is retired.

In fact, she works as a teacher and she sells cakes every day in her neighborhood which she cooks at home so as not to end up on the street, she explains: “ 

 "

The equivalent of 20 cents in dollars.

Marlene also receives a monthly parcel of low-cost food products from her neighborhood committee.

But there is less and less stuff inside.

Marlène has not had water in her apartment for four days either.

His daily life is also that of his neighbors and of millions of people in Venezuela.

So the opposition calls for a boycott of the legislative elections this Sunday.

But Marlene will not go with her heart this time: “ 

"

This weariness regarding the strategy of a large part of the opposition can be found elsewhere, in Catia for example, the other large poor neighborhood in the metropolitan area, hit hard by the economic crisis in Venezuela.

Fredwis Romero also presents himself as a supporter of the opposition, but he would like to give new faces, new ideas a chance to see, he says, what these candidates have to offer for this country, undermined by hyperinflation for three years.

To find more support for the majority opposition, led by Juan Guaidó, we must go further to the heart of Caracas, where the middle class lives.

Robinson Penaloza has been a dairy deliverer for twenty-five years.

But he has never had such a hard time keeping his business afloat due to inflation, the closure of cafes due to the pandemic and enormous problems filling his refrigerated truck.

Before, gasoline was almost free, now he has to spend $ 50 per tank or wait several hours, even days, to benefit from the few liters subsidized by the State.

Everyone is working out as best they can, the situation is very difficult, agrees Robinson, but there is no question of voting on Sunday: “ 

 "

This Sunday's turnout will give an idea of ​​Venezuelan support for the ballot boycott strategy.

An indication also on the political future of Juan Guaidó, who will not be, in a month, the president of the Assembly.

A function from which he nevertheless drew his legitimacy to proclaim himself interim president two years ago.

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• Venezuela

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