They warn that the Maduro regime is at a crossroads “due to the failure of its strategy” in confronting the elections

The Nicolas Maduro regime’s tactic to obstruct the opposition campaign is evident in the creation of strategic dilemmas and the possibility of canceling the electoral cards of the most prominent opposition. This potential scenario threatens to distort the votes allocated to it Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutiathe candidate appointed by the Democratic Unionist Platform (PUD), which could significantly influence the outcome of the election.

He added: “The government constantly creates obstacles.” Giulio Cellini Ramosa lawyer and political consultant, highlighted the opposition’s resilience in the face of Chavista attempts to undermine its participation, emphasizing how these maneuvers seek to maintain power at the expense of electoral legitimacy.

“Chavismo is at a crossroads due to the failure of its strategy,” Ramos said, reflecting the tense political scene in the country. The opposition is united around the nomination Gonzalez UrrutiaWhich seeks to overcome the challenges imposed to ensure a transparent electoral process.

Electoral competition does not only mean a struggle for power, but it also represents an opportunity to restore what the Colombian president did Gustavo Pietro He called “political peace.” Post-election guarantees proposal proposed by Petro and the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da SilvaIt seeks to provide a framework of security for winners and losers alike, in an attempt to rebuild confidence in the democratic process. The need for such guarantees highlights the deep polarization and mistrust that characterize the current Venezuelan political climate.

– Opinion polls show that Edmundo González Urrutia is the actual winner of the elections, but Chavismo appears to have refused to give up power. What do you think needs to happen for the system to achieve an unhindered transition of leadership?

-The truth is that Chavismo is currently standing at a major crossroads due to the failure of its strategy to force the opposition to overcome obstacles in the framework of developing the electoral process. Forcing the opposition not to participate in the elections scheduled to be held on July 28, but, on the contrary, boycotting and calling for abstention from voting, which is the best scenario for a government that is recorded, through all opinion studies, as a minority. Because in terms of voting intention and in terms of preference among public opinion, the government was constantly presenting obstacles and strategic dilemmas that the opposition knew how to solve, not without setbacks, but in the end it was able to solve them by nominating alternative candidates several times. It was necessary. Unified opposition and participation in the electoral process. This means that the debates within Chavismo are in a crumbling structure, that the only thing keeping them united is precisely the need to remain in power.

– Could it be the fact that other candidates did not follow Manuel Rosales’ example and downgraded their candidacy against Edmundo Gonzalez?

-Yes, of course. They are there specifically to generate confusion. We are talking about eight people, other than Nicolas Maduro and Edmundo González Urrutia, who are on the electoral ticket. Many of them have electoral cards for political parties that have been tried by the Supreme Court and are clearly in favor of the government, political parties that have traditionally been opposition, and some of which have been around for decades, such as the Democratic Acción and Coupé, which have been around for about 80 years. Therefore, it is clear that in a country that has difficulties in transmitting information due to the existing control of traditional media, a country that has serious difficulties in accessing the Internet, it is clear that the possibility of transmitting information is very risky, and for this reason it is not possible. You may underestimate those people who aim to confuse the voter.

-What is your opinion about the ranking of the candidates on the ballot in light of the clear preference on the part of Maduro?

-Everything is part of the same government strategy to create confusion among voters. The big challenge for the opposition is to make sure that people widely understand that the candidate of the democratic opposition is Edmundo González Urrutia and the three options that the electoral ticket includes, which are not exactly the best positions but that people know Edmundo González Urrutia in first place as an instrument for bringing about political change. Let us remember that what opinion studies in Venezuela reveal is that the greatest candidate is political change, whatever it is called. In other words, more than 70% of people want political change, and the challenge for the opposition is precisely to tell the country that political change is embodied by Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. Of course, if a decision is not issued by the government, it will cancel the main opposition card, which is the unity card that is popularly called “the hand.”

– As for the armed forces, they currently have a leadership role in Chavismo. What do you think is the role of the army in the campaign and in eventually forming an opposition government?

– The issue of the armed forces is a very thorny and complex issue, but ultimately the armed forces are decisive in the process to ensure respect for the popular will, but also so that a peaceful and transitional process takes place smoothly and constitutionally and to support the government that is democratically chosen by the vote of the people, and for this reason it is important to make It is essential that the armed forces be part of the negotiation process. No transition is possible, and no respect for the results, without the assistance of the armed forces. Just as the armed forces played a crucial role in keeping the current government in power, they will also be crucial in the transition process that could begin after the July 28 elections.

-What role will Maria Corina Machado play in Edmundo Gonzalez’s government?

– Maria Corina Machado is called upon to play a very important role in the new government. Personally or through representatives. It is imperative that the new government be a government of national integration, that is, a pluralistic government that includes representation from very broad sectors of the country, including representatives of Chavismo, because if we are talking about a transitional process and generating guarantees, it is very likely that there will be agreement on the participation of figures from the outgoing government. , For example. These are questions that must be considered in due course. I do not wish to speculate on this, nor on the specific role that Maria Corina Machado will play, which is that she must be a government of national integration.

– What do you think is the future of the senior Chavismo leaders in a potential opposition government? Do you think that what Lula and Petro are looking for is precisely protection from investigations after they hand over power?

-In Venezuela, we will have to see and accept a series of things that a country with open wounds may not want to see or accept. But I think the important thing, however, is to build safeguards and, within the transitional justice process, make sure that those who have committed crimes and violations, and those who have acted outside the scope of legality, are clearly subject to the mechanisms. He insisted that transitional justice could bear responsibility for these events. But in this scenario, freedom comes before justice, and this does not mean impunity. But ultimately, the mechanisms to achieve this must be built and guarantees must be provided for them, because those who want to contribute on the path towards the re-institutionalization of Venezuela and the return of democracy, and those who are in power at this moment want to contribute to the re-institutionalization of Venezuela and the return of democracy. Venezuela and the return of democracy. From this perspective, it is obvious that we give them the necessary guarantees so that they can be part of this process in some way. Of course, there are people within Chavismo who do not trust this building of guarantees, and it is precisely they who have blocked the roads within Chavismo for this to happen. But I am sure that there are many people within the government structure who understand that politics continues and that they can continue to sustain themselves if they make way for the process of democratization. The allies of Chavismo historically, like President Lula or President Petro, are working to ensure that there is a transition in which the leaders of Chavismo have guarantees of non-persecution and I think that is very important because it relates to their allies seeking to build this path.