SAN LUIS POTOSÍ, Mexico.- During his campaign and with polls that show that Edmundo González has a great advantage over Nicolas Maduro, The candidate of the Chavista regime opted for violent rhetoric and intensified the persecution of opponents.
The opposition has overcome a large number of obstacles throughout its campaign.
At the rallies, government forces have blocked roads, gas stations have been “mysteriously” closed along their route, leaders have been harassed and attempts have been made to block all international observation of the elections.
Arrest of opponents and activists
The regime has attacked civil society and opponents as part of a systematic pattern of human rights violations.
The authorities Venezuelans confirmed in February the arrest of Rocio San Miguela human rights activist, for his involvement in an alleged conspiracy to assassinate Nicolás Maduro.
San Miguel, 57, a staunch critic of the Maduro government, is a defense expert who runs the NGO Control Ciudadano, which advocates for civilian oversight of Venezuela’s armed forces.
Along with her, dozens of people were arrested by the Venezuelan regime, after Maduro claimed there was a plot against him.
More than 32 people, including civilians and military personnel, have been arrested since May 2023 for their alleged participation in five conspiracy plans involving the “assassination” of President Nicolás Maduro and attacks on military installations.
Similarly, just two weeks before the elections, María Corina Machado’s security chief was arbitrarily detained in what Machado described as “a kidnapping.”
In addition, the opposition candidate’s campaign vehicles were vandalised and had their brake hoses cut.
His team has gotten into the habit of carrying hoses and fuel canisters on the road whenever they travel, in case the government forces gas stations along the route to close.
Wave of arbitrariness
This Saturday, on the other hand, the former deputy of the Assembly of VenezuelaCarlos Lozano was the victim of a raid on his home in the state of Carabobo.
About 60 police officers, out of the approximately 80 who were present, assigned to the Strategic Actions Division and the Criminal Investigation Directorate, went up to Lozano’s apartment.
Critics accuse Maduro’s government of targeting low-level political workers and even small business owners for their association with the opposition.
In the weeks since the start of the election campaign on July 4, the Venezuelan human rights organization Criminal Forum has documented 149 cases of arbitrary detentions for political reasons.
One of these cases concerned Aldo Roso Vargas, an activist from the opposition party Voluntad Popular.
He was arrested on his way to an opposition campaign rally in Caracas earlier this month, accused of trying to destabilise the electricity system.
Disqualification of candidates
Machado herself, who won more than 90% of the vote in October in a primary election organised by the opposition, was declared “ineligible” to run for office, citing what the regime considered “financial irregularities” that occurred when she was a national deputy.
On that basis, he arrested several members of his campaign. The repression reached a point where men on motorcycles attacked Machado supporters in the streets.
At the beginning of this year, the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) of the Venezuelan regime reaffirmed the disqualification for 15 years of the presidential candidate of the main opposition coalition.
The Political Administrative Chamber of the TSJ declared inadmissible the request for precautionary protection presented by Machado, who sought to lift the sanction within the framework of a case review mechanism agreed upon between the regime and the opposition Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD).
The ruling detailed that the disqualification is based on Machado’s participation in an alleged corruption plot led by the former head of Parliament, Juan Guaidóand for failing to comply with Venezuelan regulations when accepting accreditation as Panama’s alternate representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) in 2014.
The ruling establishes that the sanction will last 15 years, starting in September 2021.
Blocking observers
The Maduro regime has been developing a series of policies with a view to influencing the voting process.
First, it has disqualified candidates, exerted pressure and social control over the people who benefit from public policies. For example, food bags are distributed to the population every month, known as “CLAP boxes”, on condition of belonging to the governing party.
If people do not meet this requirement, or become declared opponents, this benefit may be suspended.
Some testimonies from former government intelligence agents explain that the regime also tends to announce fraudulent results. They also introduce false ID cards into the system.
Previously, it was estimated that up to four million fake ID cards could be introduced.
Maduro has blocked international and other impartial election observers within the country.
This Friday, a flight to Venezuela carrying several former presidents who were to participate as electoral observers in the elections was prevented from taking off from Panama.
Also expelled from Venezuela to a delegation from the Spanish Popular Party that traveled to Caracas on Friday, invited by opposition leaders Edmundo González and María Corina Machado.
The 10 Spanish politicians, who had come to participate in the elections, were detained upon arrival at Caracas airport, allegedly for not having the necessary permits to enter the country.
The authorities of the Maduro regime interrogated the Spanish parliamentarians upon their arrival and announced that they would be deported.
Maduro’s threats
“The destiny of Venezuela in the 21st century depends on our victory on July 28th. If we do not want Venezuela to fall into a bloodbath, into a fratricidal civil war, the product of the fascists, let us guarantee the greatest success, the greatest victory.” said at a campaign rally on July 17.
In addition, during the closing act of his campaign In a press conference held on Bolívar Avenue in Caracas, he said: “We will not allow them to continue causing harm, their time is up (…) There will be an iron fist and justice for the fascists and violent people.”
The Chavista leader accused the Venezuelan opposition of planning to ignore the results in order to launch acts of violence. He also said that the Armed Forces are loyal to him and could rise up against a possible opposition government.
At the close of his political campaign, Maduro also asked the Venezuelan people to think carefully about the vote they will cast this Sunday at the polls, where the Chavista leader will seek a second re-election.
“Think carefully, for your family, for your business, for your company, for your work, who of the 10 candidates guarantees peace and stability in Venezuela?” he asked.
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