Petro says Maria Corina Machado’s disqualification an “undemocratic coup”

(CNN Spanish) — Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro spoke this Monday about the electoral process in Venezuela at a time of political tension in the neighboring country, in which a part of the opposition led by María Corina Machado has condemned the lack of guarantees for participation. The electoral process in next July.

From Colombia, Petro, who has been described by critics as an “ally” of the Venezuelan government, and who had chosen to re-establish relations with the government of Nicolás Maduro from the beginning of his government, said that not allowing What happened in Venezuela: Registering oppositionist María Corina Machado as a presidential candidate is an “anti-democratic coup”.

Petrou was referring to the political right to choose and be elected, which he said is “not an individual, but a social” right, and criticized the “administrative” decisions of electoral officials that prevent them from participating in elections. Was banned from.

“This discussion is very well argued in the events in Venezuela today,” Petro said at the inauguration ceremony of new State Counselor Gloria María Gómez Montoya.

“Mrs. María Corina and others were previously disqualified from participating in electoral campaigns by administrative authorities… The same happens in Colombia: here as a kind of double standard, we attack those who They do it there because it is undoubtedly an anti-democratic coup, but we hide that it is done here too.”

As of Tuesday, the Venezuelan government had not commented on Petro’s statements and did not respond to a request for comment sent by CNN.

Petro’s words come as a section of the opposition led by Maria Corina Machado denounced that Maduro wants to field an “opposition” candidate in line with his own in the presidential election on July 28. The Venezuelan Supreme Court confirmed Machado’s political ineligibility and the candidate chosen to replace him, Corina Yoris, was also unable to register. He said he did not receive the digital registration keys and could not approach the National Electoral Council.

Machado sent a message to his followers on the social network X highlighting leftist voices critical of the Maduro regime.

“What he has done is so grotesque, so obscene that he has forced his former allies to raise their voices. Maduro cannot choose the candidate who will face him in the presidential election. We will not allow this. They There will be no elections,” María Corina Machado said this Monday on her X social account.

A week earlier, the Colombian Foreign Ministry had issued a statement in which it called on both the Maduro government and opposition sectors to fully comply with the provisions of the Barbados Agreement, in which Colombia acted as an observer. In the statement, the Government of Colombia reiterated the need for a “free, fair and competitive presidential election process”. He also expressed concern about problems with the registration of some opposition candidates and, without naming Yoris specifically, said that this fact “may affect the confidence of some sectors of the international community.”

Machado earlier thanked the governments of Colombia, Brazil and France “for their stance in the last hours, which confirms that our struggle is fair and democratic.” He called on the international community to allow Yoris to register his candidacy.

The Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Yvan Gil, accused the United States of being “the leader of the operation against Venezuela” and of being “the owner of a circus that tries to ignore and delegitimize the next presidential elections.”

But Petro is not the only leftist leader who has expressed his views. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a former Maduro ally, said in late March that the obstacles to the registration of opposition candidate Corina Yvoris in Venezuela’s presidential elections are “serious” and have no “legal” explanation. Nor politics.”

The Brazilian Foreign Ministry also expressed its concern about the difficulties reported by the opposition for its registration in Venezuela: “It is observed that the candidates indicated by the Unitary Platform, a political opposition force, and on which there is no judicial decision was prevented from registering, within the framework of negotiations that began in August 2022 under the mediation of the Kingdom of Norway, an agreement of political and electoral guarantees for this year’s elections, which is not compatible with the Barbados Agreement.

Presidential elections will be held in Venezuela on July 28. According to information received from the National Election Council, so far 13 registered candidates have been nominated by 37 organizations and political parties. Nicolas Maduro registered as presidential candidate for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) in a public event, in which he said elections would be held on July 28, with or without the opposition. Maduro wants a third term.