Daniel Lozano

Updated Saturday, March 16, 2024-9:29 p.m.

  • International Chavismo calls the presidential elections for July 28

  • Venezuela María Corina Machado maintains her challenge after Nicolás Maduro imposed a symbolic electoral date

"Today, March 16, 2024 ,

I accept the presidential candidacy

for July 28. I accept it, I assume it and with the support of the people we will go to a new victory for the Bolivarian and Chavista forces,"

Nicolás Maduro

pontificated today before his followers in the Caracas Polyhedron.

The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) had proclaimed its candidate minutes earlier

, after the supposed approval of four million followers.

"The PSUV has made an exemplary exercise of the people's method, of the bottom-up method to make this decision," cried the "son of Chávez."

According to the data provided by the ruling party , 257,215 street assemblies

were held,

of which there is hardly any reference.

"In their hands the country will not be lost, the revolution will not be lost," congratulated

Diosdado Cabello, Chavismo's

number two

, in charge of carrying out the internal process.

The Bolivarian objective was to surpass with its numbers the 2.6 million voters that the opposition obtained last year in historic primaries, which placed

María Corina Machado

as its presidential candidate.

The imposition of an illegal and unconstitutional disqualification

prevents the opposition leader from being able to face Maduro at the polls,

whom she surpasses in the polls by more than 50% of support.

"This decision is one more farce. It is the autocratic imposition of a leadership that would lose the elections even for its party if it allowed the bases to be counted," criticized opposition leader

Juan Pablo Guanipa.

No surprise therefore in the revolutionary candidacy, which clears the electoral path as if it were a gigantic snowplow.

In the last few hours, the disqualification of the opponent César Pérez Vivas,

who competed against Machado in the primaries, and of Guanipa himself, another of the leaders who faced

Henrique Capriles

in the previous process in Primero Justicia,

has been announced .

In addition, the National Electoral Council (CNE) has eliminated the electoral cards of several parties to further narrow the margin for the opposition to register parallel lists if Machado, as feared, is not finally allowed to participate.

In this way, the Unitary Platform only has the cards of

two parties left to be able to run in the

presidential elections: Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT) and Democratic Unity.

Among those

disqualified at the last minute

are Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS), Movimiento Por Venezuela (MPV), Gente y Puente, among others, which join a long list of parties intervened by the Supreme Court of Justice and handed over to government allies .

Among them, Democratic Action (AD), Primero Justicia, Voluntad Popular, Copei, Bandera Roja, Patria Para Todos (PPT) and Podemos stand out.

This is how Maduro made it clear during his speech: "Get ready because in 2050 this country will continue to be governed by a Chavista."