Daniel Lozano

Updated Monday, March 25, 2024-20:46

"They do not allow me to access the system and register my candidacy for the elections in Venezuela. If they deny me my right to register,

they are denying it to the entire country

," cried

Corina Yoris

, the candidate chosen by the democratic opposition to replace María Corina Machado.

On this occasion there is no disqualification of any kind, no judicial sanction or even a legal excuse. Simply a new dirty maneuver of the revolution,

through the blocking of electoral cards

, so that its leader, Nicolás Maduro, does not face the new candidate,

a retiree who barely receives four dollars a month

for her pension after a dedicated life to teaching.

"I have no stain on me, I cannot be disqualified under any aspect," Yoris emphasized after 72 hours of constant insults ("Villain Puppet", according to former minister Iris Varela) and accusations, that even a dual nationality was invented so that could not participate in the elections.

Nicolás Maduro

himself

took advantage of her nomination to describe

the 80-year-old philosopher as a "puppeteer"

, in addition to repeating the usual insults of "lackeys of the right" and "dragged into imperialism."

"We are witnessing the execution in slow motion, by the leadership in power, of a coup d'état against popular sovereignty. The process is in development," warned former opposition candidate César Pérez Vivas on a day of maximum tension , as momentous as if it were an election day. An electoral fraud four months in advance.

In this way, Chavismo once again makes history by starring in another chapter of its electoral authoritarianism, so similar to that of Nicaragua and Russia. When there were just a few hours left before the deadline for presidential nominations, Yoris was not even allowed to go to the headquarters of the National Electoral Council (CNE) to desperately request an extension.

"The city is taken militarily

," the academic denounced, a common display before Maduro's arrival at the electoral body to formalize his candidacy.

Two opposition parties, the

Democratic Unity Roundtable

(MUD) and

Un Nuevo Tiempo

(UNT),

have electoral cards

to participate in the presidential elections in July, after

being saved from the last purge

. Another controversial party of opposition mayors, Fuerza Vecinal, with rocky relations with the government, also has an electoral card.

Concern in neighboring countries

On the other hand, the 10 candidates already admitted by Chavismo have had no problem applying. Sources from the negotiators have confirmed to EL MUNDO that the government has let them know that Yoris' registration will not be accepted in any way. The blockade against it is definitive, despite the "serious concern" made public in a joint statement by the governments of Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Peru.

"These restrictions prevent progress towards elections that allow a democratization process to be carried out in sister Venezuela," the statement denounced.

Maduro's veto against the two Corinas has narrowed to the maximum a gap that was always minimal for the Democrats. In an obvious attempt to break opposition unity, government negotiators slipped in the name of some "potable" candidates against whom Maduro would dare to compete at the polls.

That list includes figures such as the governor of Zulia, Manuel Rosales; Ramón Guillermo Aveledo, former secretary of the MUD and man close to Henrique Capriles; the former primary candidate, Andrés Caleca; and the head of the negotiating delegation, Gerardo Blyde.

On that list, of course, there is no place for belligerent opponents or women. But what the revolution also demands is that María Corina step aside so that she does not transfer the massive popular support to her.

Electoral authoritarianism

has also hit hard the Communist Party of Venezuela

(PCV), a historical ally of Chavismo, which has not only been prevented from presenting its candidate,

Manuel Isidro Molina

. He has also had to witness how a false general secretary, imposed by the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), gave the support of the red rooster to Maduro, who has long been harshly criticized for his "savage capitalism." And when they got the support of another party to nominate him, they immediately blocked him.

To accompany these last-minute blackmails, the government is preparing an express law against fascism and anti-fascism "in the exercise of politics and national life," as reported by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez. This new legislation against the opposition plans to review what happened during the protests of 2014 and 2017, in addition to the opposition's victory in the parliamentary elections of 2015. All of this "in consideration of the international situation whose peace and stability are threatened by neo-fascist expressions festering in centers of power at the service of the global north".

The "They will not pass!", as Delcy repeated, shouted again by the crushing machine of History.