Elvis Amoroso, President of the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela. LEONARDO FERNANDEZ VILORIA (Portal)
The definition of the leadership of the Venezuelan opposition has been, for at least a decade, one of the debates that has most tensed the political climate of the country, which is already in a serious institutional, social and economic crisis. There are two reasons for this. The first is the nervousness it creates in the Chavista apparatus, which has always tried to dynamize the primary processes of its opponents. The second reason is the constant turmoil in the opposition coalition, now called the Unity Platform, a fragile coalition of forces with a very broad ideological spectrum in which suspicions and power struggles are widespread. The threat looms again over Venezuela.
With less than a month until the internal consultation of candidates to compete with Nicolás Maduro in 2024, the new directorate of the National Electoral Center (CNE) announced that it would offer “comprehensive technical, constitutional and legal services” to the organizing commission of the vote. Last June, the opposition alliance itself asked for this support from the electoral guarantee body, but after the sudden resignation of its rectors, it decided to continue the process autonomously. The new electoral council, which took office weeks ago, is now busy monitoring and ultimately controlling the primaries.
What does this movement mean? First, supervision is closer to interference. The president of the CNE, Elvis Amoroso, was the one who, from his position as comptroller, pushed for the disqualification of three important opposition candidates: María Corina Machado, who leads all the polls, the former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles and Freddy Superlano of Voluntad Popular, the party of Leopoldo Lopez and Juan Guaido. It is also not clear whether the Electoral Council’s “technical service” will take into account voting abroad, which is crucial in a country that has seen an exodus of millions of people in recent years.
Recent opinion studies confirmed Machado’s upward trend. The veteran right-wing politician has almost 40% support, three times more than Capriles, the second-best in the internal race. The founder of the Vente Venezuela party decided on this occasion to participate in the process since next year’s presidential elections could take place with democratic guarantees. However, not only is there no guarantee that he will finally succeed, but the entire competition is once again in danger of reaching a dead end, as the elections ultimately depend on the will of Chavismo, which retains political control. all institutions and powers of the country.
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