Venezuela is banking on hope. Tomorrow’s election is much more than just a presidential election. Polls point to a victory for the citizens over a regime that is clinging to power, threateningly. Nicolás Maduro doubled down on his more authoritarian profile. He warned of “a bloodbath” if Venezuelans opt for a “change of process.” Not even the reflection of the president of Brazil, Lula Da Silva, managed to calm the violent and antidemocratic impulses of the union leader.
The detached leadership of María Corina Machado is the key to the Venezuelan opposition. The face of Edmundo González Urrutia will appear on the ballot, but the vote will feature the rebellious spirit of the political leader of Vente Venezuela. Maduro’s fear of transparent democracy led to the disqualification not only of Machado, but also of Corina Yoris, the first person appointed to replace her. The argument for the exclusion of Yoris could not be as trivial as it was malicious: “a system failure” in the digital registration form.
The example of political cohesion shown by the Venezuelan opposition is far from the proposals for unity in Bolivia. Machado has consolidated an alternative proposal to “achieve a peaceful transition” based on an agreement with all fronts. Venezuela “must heal its wounds and rediscover itself” he said on more than one occasion. The path of the opposition inevitably involves putting aside personal attachments and putting together a political, economic and social project that provides a solution to the problems that overwhelm us on a daily basis.
