In view of the imminent arrival of the presidential elections, the situation of the opposition is still in doubt, since there are no determined positions on the way in which it will compete for its seat in the Executive.
According to the deputy for the Patria Querida party and one of the possible pre-candidates for the presidency, Sebastián Villarejo, the agreement is possible despite any ideological differences between the opposition parties and the slowness of the process. The parliamentarian commented that the criteria to carry out the plan will be through the open registry, with an election that allows the common candidate to be selected.
From the point of view of the political scientist and analyst, Marcello Lachi, what is stated regarding the criteria responds to the technique to be used, a fact that matters little when carrying out the agreement, since the central thing must be the placement of a credible candidate with sufficient capacity to bring together a large number of voters.
Marcello Lachi
“A candidate can win all the inmates he wants, but then lose because his figure really matters. With respect to deputy Villarejo, only the upper-middle class sector knows him, when the most determining factor revolves around the popular sectors,” determined the expert, emphasizing that for this reason the figure of Efraín Alegre is not accurate either, since being rejected will not be able to agglutinate decisive votes.
At that point, Lachi commented that a figure should be targeted that not only gathers anti-colorado votes, but also from the ANR itself, as Fernando Lugo did at the time. The former president agreed to Colorado voters because he did not present himself as an enemy of them, speaking of his uncle Epifanio Méndez Fleitas, who at the time was a Colorado caudillo.
“After Lugo, we did not have any opposition leader who stood out and if they continue on the same path, the same thing will happen as in the Municipal elections: the opposition seems to have decided that they will not be able to win and will only have the possibility of reversing the situation if takes out someone well known and accepted by the citizenry,” he asserted.
FREE ELECTIONS
For the political analyst, Alfredo Boccia Paz, the electoral calendar will end up tightening the opposition because an agreement requires longer and more complex terms than an alliance. Besides, it is very objectionable legally, since judicial interventions promoted by the Colorados can be carried out that end up delaying the possibility of reaching an agreement.
Alfredo Boccia Paz
“The only way out that I see is that an unexpected and unifying figure appears, as was seen in 2008. Otherwise, they are only giving the elections to the Colorado Party,” said the analyst, stressing that he has never observed such a great distance between the activities of the ANR and the opposition as now.
In that sense, things are much clearer for the Colorados, while the opposition will only have a chance if things are done well and they have a very strong candidate.
“The path that will lead them to defeat is not to make an alliance or concert because now the Colorado Party has it easier with so much party dissidence that makes unity difficult,” he said.
Boccia Paz stressed that within the unity, the opponents cannot fail to count on the Liberal Party and the broad left-wing progressive sector; however, in the first group the central element that ends up ruining the collective agreement is the lack of resolution of problems between Efrainism and Llanism, which would generate wounds at the beginning of the hypothetical agreement.
For her part, analyst Estela Ruiz Díaz observed a wide variety of candidates on the electoral stage. However, she indicated that the only way to achieve success with the concertation will be only through a candidate and a speech that generates hope and awakens the dreams of the people, overcoming partisan and ideological borders.
Estela Ruiz Diaz
“The union of the opposition is always feasible, but if they do not speed up the agreement they will have legal and political problems. Agreement is a complex figure and requires a lot of effort and renunciation; based on the agreement, if it exists, they must speed up the campaign because the time left is short”, stated Ruiz Díaz.
