The opposition coalition in Venezuela, the Platform of Democratic Unity (PUD), was finally able to register a candidate for the July 28 presidential election on Tuesday March 26.

That candidate is Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, a former ambassador and political scientist. He replaces Corina Yoris, the academic new to politics whom the opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, had nominated but who failed to register, without the National Electoral Council (CNE) giving any approval. explanation.

While the registration limit expired on Monday at midnight, the CNE finally granted a deadline to the opposition and agreed to register Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.

Analysts and the opposition, however, believe that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia could be replaced by another candidate – Maria Corina Machado, Corina Yoris or another – in the future if negotiations between power and opposition were successful.

A situation that concerns Brazil and Colombia

Maria Corina Machado had won the opposition primary handily and seemed to be able to rally an often divided opposition behind her. Maria Corina Machado is ineligible, accused by the government of corruption and of supporting a foreign invasion – something she has always denied.

“What we denounced for many months has finally happened: the regime has chosen its candidates,” she said on Tuesday.

Many observers and opponents believe that the CNE, often accused of being at the behest of those in power, deliberately blocked the candidacy of Corina Yoris.

Brazil and Colombia expressed their "concern" on Tuesday, while Uruguayan Foreign Minister Omar Paganini said Venezuela was "consolidating itself as a dictatorship." The White House said it was “very concerned” about the blocking of Corina Yoris’s candidacy.

The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry responded by accusing Brazil and Colombia of interference.

The spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on the international community to "continue to engage with the parties in favor of a negotiated road map", and declared: "we regret any development that could "hinder electoral guarantees and recall the need to guarantee the right to vote and to be elected".

The opposition divided

Tuesday, before Gonzalez Urrutia's registration, Maria Corina Machado insisted: "My candidate is Corina Yoris. No one is going to take us off the electoral road. We will fight until the end."

She had also distanced herself from the last minute candidacy of Manuel Rosales, 71, an old hand in politics, already a candidate against Hugo Chavez in 2006. This governor of the oil state of Zulia (northwest) was able to register at the last minute.

This heavyweight was, however, far from unanimous in the opposition, who criticize him for his regular contacts with Nicolas Maduro since he became governor again in 2021.

He defended himself from wanting to "take away leadership from anyone", ensuring that he came "with open arms": "I had to make a decision: namely to open a space so that Venezuelans can vote or move towards a abstain and Maduro remains in office for six more years."

On the power side, everything is simple with a clear candidate: Nicolas Maduro, 61, who succeeded his mentor Hugo Chavez (1999-2013) upon his death in 2013. The entire machine of the State and Chavismo is already working.

Read alsoVenezuela: Nicolas Maduro officially candidate for succession, the opposition struggles to register

More than 60 countries, including the United States, did not recognize his re-election in 2018, boycotted by the opposition. This non-recognition led to economic sanctions targeting the oil sector in particular.

The government can in any case rub its hands with the confusion and divisions of the opposition before the single-round vote. For political scientist Yoel Lugo, "the worst scenario for the opposition is to maintain the tone of internal tension which, with division and demoralization, is the perfect equation for the demobilization of the opposition. This is precisely the strategy which allows Nicolas Maduro to remain in power.

With AFP

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