Elections in Venezuela: Manuel Rosales said he is ready to give his place to another opposition candidate

The coalition of opposition parties, which has a card on the electoral ballot, known as the Democratic Unity Table (MUD), registered its candidate, the former ambassador, at the last minute. Edmundo Gonzalez.

Machado, a 56-year-old industrial engineer, insisted on Tuesday that Yoris was still the candidate of the Unitary Platform coalition, a name created for a group of opposition parties after the Supreme Court voided the MUD’s participation in presidential elections. 2018. That year, Maduro won after the opposition called for abstention due to irregularities in the process.

“I take my heart in my hand and tell you: look for dialogue, look for a candidate who will overcome the obstacles and hindrances of the government, look for him and I will give the candidacy to whoever you want.”Rosales, the 71-year-old politician, said this at a campaign event in Maracaibo, the capital of the oil state of Zulia in the country’s northwest, where he is governor.

Rosales, whom some in the opposition say became too close to the ruling party during his tenure as governor, has reiterated that he registered to ensure that there was a candidate and that the elections Avoid participating in.

“Forget that people will abstain from voting, people have the power to vote (…) “If they do not field another candidate, I will continue to keep the Venezuelan flag high to become the next president.”Rosales added it to his schedule on Wednesdays.

The opposition has until April 20 as the deadline for a replacement, while it will hold internal talks on whether to support one of the registered candidates or name another.

Analysts have noted that it is not clear whether any of the registered opposition figures can garner as much support as Machado, especially if she does not endorse them.

Many opinion polls support this Machado will get at least 50% of the vote, compared to 20% for Maduro. It is unclear whether any other opposition leader can muster as much support as Machado, especially if she does not support him.

Argentina’s Foreign Ministry declined to reveal the names of those present at its embassy, ​​citing security reasons, but one of the refugees confirmed they were six leaders associated with Machado.

“We are six political leaders persecuted by the regime of Nicolás Maduro, refugees in the Argentine embassy in Caracas”Omar Gonzalez told local radio Rivadavia, “They have cut off our electricity and sequentially our refrigerators, water and basic services.”He added.

Pedro Uruchurtu Noceli, Another refugee in residence thanked the Argentine government in his X account, where he presents himself as María Corina Machado and the international coordinator of the Vente Venezuela campaign.

Apart from Uruchurtu and Gonzalez, opposition leaders Magali Maeda, Claudia Massero and Humberto Villalobos They may have been sheltered in residence since Monday, while the name of the sixth person was not released.

Attorney General of Venezuela, tarek william saabsaid on Tuesday that two men detained for allegedly carrying firearms to a Maduro event on Monday were linked to Machado, a charge denied by his Vente Venezuela party.

The Unitary Platform said in a social media post on Monday that Maduro was oppressing the party by classifying it as a terrorist group, adding that the government was torturing Machado.

Last week, Saab said two other people close to Machado had been detained and there were arrest warrants for seven other members of his team in the latest wave of arrests of activists.

(With information from Reuters)