by After 11 years, the Venezuelan opponents presented their ideas in a debate ahead of the primary elections on October 22, the day on which the candidate who will face Nicolás Maduro in the 2024 presidential elections, or at least that is the initial plan.
(Also read: Venezuelan opponents present ideas in the first public debate)
More than a debate, it was a question-and-answer format with a style that evoked Miss Venezuela -a deep-rooted culture among Venezuelans- with lights and a setting worthy of a television contest, not without technical problems such as sound malfunctions. .
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The presentation of proposals was not the forte of the meeting, however non-aggression marked the debate that only had in common: the need for unity to face Chavismo, even so, the end made it clear that not everyone is so willing to give in, because at the moment of the «final photo» everyone raised their hands together except Maria Corina MachadoWho leads the polls?
Although the majority spoke of «unity» or of establishing «succession» mechanisms, as happened in Barinas, chen Freddy Superlano, from Voluntad Popular, took the cradle of Hugo Chávez from the Chavistas, there is no agreement on this.
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On that occasion, the National Electoral Council He asked for a repetition of the 2021 gubernatorial elections and since Superlano was disqualified, like his wife and another possible candidate, the local deputy Sergio Garrido, from the Acción Democrática party, took up the challenge, winning the election over Jorge Arreaza, Chávez’s ex-brother-in-law and ending the inheritance of the Chávez family.
Here it is not possible to speak of successions (…) that the people choose and not that the regime imposes on whoever it wants as an opponent.
Faced with the possibility of this «succession», due to the disqualifications that weigh on Machado, Superlano and Capriles, the former deputy Delsa Solórzano, reiterated the proposal. «That an order of succession be established, not because we cannot defend our right (…), but because it must be articulated within the democratic forces. The objective is to remove the regime of (President Nicolás) Maduro.»
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But Machado rejected the idea of succession «here it is not possible to talk about successions (…) that the people choose and not that the regime imposes whoever it wants as an opponent, what is coming is hard and there will be many barriers and one by one we are going to defeat them (…) we cannot play with the rules of tyranny, but rather enforce the rules of citizenship and freedom,» he stressed.
Of the 13 registered to participate in the October primaries, only eight attended the Andrés Bello Catholic University to debate. The great absentee: Henrique Capriles. The two-time presidential candidate did not attend the debate. He assured that it was not what the country wanted and that the idea was not to show divisions. However, Maduro took the opportunity to insult him on Twitter calling him a «ghost», for what is believed to be a strategy to position him and restore popularity to María Corina Machado.
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They all agreed on the need to get out of socialism, to find economic stability and the return of migrants. The favorites were left behind.
polls
María Corina Machado had already been in a space like this, the same as 11 years ago, the difference is that now she is one of the favorites. According to the latest study from the Delphos Institute, in elementary school, Machado would win with more than 50 percent. However, in the debate their participation was not as outstanding, unlike Freddy Superlano of the Voluntad Popular party and the independents Andrés Caleca and Tamara Adrián, who did not exceed 5 percent of vote intention.
(In context: María Corina Machado and the other candidates who hope to contest primaries in Venezuela)
Through social networks -because national television does not dare to broadcast this type of act for fear of government sanctions- viewers reached some 20,000 in the live broadcast. They witnessed the same proposals of recent years.
Machado is the favorite in the polls.
The styles that recall the Fourth Republic –before the arrival of Chávez and the end of bipartisanship- they were represented by César Pérez Vivas and Andrés Velásquez, two politicians with extensive experience.
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Meanwhile, María Corina Machado insisted on the destruction of Chavista socialism, with her privatization proposal.
Delsa Solórzano, one of the promoters of the denunciations of crimes against humanity by Chavismo before the International Criminal Court, remained faithful to her speech in defense of human rights, also stressing the need for unity.
Carlos Prosperi was very aware of his Democratic Action party, one of the oldest in the country, focusing on education and the incorporation of new technologies.
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Tamara Adrián and Freddy Superlano, the first a former member of Voluntad Popular and the second, a member of that party, were quite academic, with clear speeches based on the reinstitutionalization of the State.
For his part, Andrés Caleca, well-known ex-rector of the National Electoral Council, was praised for his realism and at the same time pragmatism.
ANA MARIA RODRIGUEZ BRAZON
WEATHER CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
