Third time’s the charm? The Venezuelan opposition is betting on Edmundo González, the anti-Maduro candidate

The first was Maria Corina Machadoformer popular legislator.

Then it had to be like this Corina Yorisa little-known philosophy professor.

Now, an opposition coalition has introduced the former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez as its third candidate to run against the president Nicola Maduro in the elections scheduled for July.

That is, at least for now.

The coalition of opposing political parties, the Roundtable of Democratic Unity, has been waiting for months to unite behind a single candidate who could be a viable rival to Maduro.

But, as the rapid change in the list of potential candidates clearly shows, the Maduro government has placed a number of obstacles to prevent this objective.

On Monday, a national electoral commission controlled by Maduro’s allies used a technical maneuver to block the coalition from including Yoris on the ballot.

It was the last day that presidential candidates could register to vote in July, and it appeared that the attempt to present a unified candidate had been thwarted.

Then, Tuesday afternoon, the coalition announced al social network, former Twitter, that the electoral authority had granted him an extension and that he had “decided to provisionally register” González, whom he had identified as president of the Democratic Unity. Roundtable Board of Directors.

The opposition said González’s inclusion on the ballot applies to one in a quarter of its population.

“This opens the door to a stronger starting point for the rest of the opposition to negotiate what will happen,” said Tamara Taraciuk Broner, who researches Venezuela for the Inter-American dialogue, a Washington-based organization. “Overall, it’s good news.”

Substitute

The provisional candidacy of González, who could only serve as a substitute, and the parties yes exchange alternatives in the weeks that followed, it was just the latest in a series of events that caused whiplash over who would run against Maduro in July’s elections. .

The Roundtable on Democratic Unity announced last week that it had agreed to propose that Yoris, 80, run against Maduro in a show of unity after the country’s highest court in January banned Machado from running in the election ;

The former lawmaker was widely seen as a major threat to Maduro.

Yoris’s nomination briefly raised hopes that free and fair elections were possible.

But as the week went on, Yoris said so I couldn’t log in to the digital platform created by the country’s electoral authority to register as a candidate.

Every political organization authorized in Venezuela is granted a code to access the electoral platform.

But both Yoris’ party, A New Era, and the Democratic Unity Roundtable coalition asserted their codes they didn’t workwhich prevented them from recording Yoris.

“We have exhausted all avenues,” Yoris said at a news conference Monday morning.

“The whole country has no choice if I can’t sign up.”

As the day wore on, confusion emerged amid signs that behind the scenes the government was trying to shift the levers of power and secure an electoral field that would give Maduro a better chance of winning.

A few minutes before the registration deadline, inexplicably during the match New era was authorized to register a different candidate:

Manuel Rosalesparty founder and governor of the populous state of Zulia, whose entry into the race was seen by political analysts as an endorsement of the Maduros.

Rosales, in a speech Tuesday before González’s registration was announced, said he intended to run a rigorous campaign and vowed to “lead the largest electoral rebellion that has ever existed.”

Two more candidates registered on Monday, bringing the total number of candidates to 13, including Maduro.

Most are considered close to the president and no one is considered a serious rival.

“There is no doubt that Maduro wants to choose who to run against and is afraid to run against anyone who poses a threat to him,” Taraciuk Broner said.

It was unclear Tuesday why the government allowed González to register and what that might mean for Rosales’ candidacy.

The continued confusion over who can run and who can’t is a deliberate tactic by the Maduro administration to sow distrust among the electorate and divide the vote, according to Rafael Uzcátegui, a sociologist and director of the Peace Laboratory, a human rights organization . based in Caracas.

In October, Maduro signed a deal with the country’s opposition and agreed to work towards free and fair presidential elections. Maduro said he will hold elections later this year and, in exchange, the United States, as a sign of goodwill, lifted some economic sanctions.

Days later, Machado got more than 90% of the votes elect an opposition candidate, in primary elections run by a commission without government involvement.

The decisive results underlined his popularity and raised the possibility that he could beat Maduro in the general election.

Three months later, the country’s highest court, packed with government loyalists, declared Machado unfit to overturn what the judges said were financial irregularities that occurred when he was a national lawmaker.

Six Machado campaign aides have been arrested in recent weeks and another six have arrest warrants against them and are in hiding.

Men on motorbikes attacked their followers at their events.

The government has not commented on the difficulties faced by the opposition in registering.

The country’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, announced on Sunday the creation of a state commission against fascism to address threats from “centers of power serving the global north.”

An unclassified US intelligence report in February said Maduro was likely to win the election and remain in power “due to his control over state institutions that influence the electoral process and his willingness to exercise his power.”

Although the Maduro administration had placed allies on the electoral council, the intelligence report said it was “also trying to avoid blatant electoral fraud.”

Maduro, after registering to vote on Monday, claimed, without evidence, that two members of Machado’s party had tried to kill him that afternoon during a march to celebrate his registration.

The Ven Venezuela party denies this.

In his comments he criticized members of the opposition, calling them “lackeys of the right”.

“They pledged to call for sanctions against society and the economy, to call for blockade and invasion of their country,” he said.

“They don’t think for themselves; They don’t act alone. “They are pawns in the US empire’s game to conquer Venezuela.”

“On July 28,” he added, addressing the opposition, “there will be elections with you or without you.”

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