Despite Foreign Support, Opposition Is Weak as Venezuela Readies for Elections.

AutorGaudin, Andres

Venezuela is gearing up to elect a new government after the most difficult year in its recent, tumultuous history was marred by bloody street demonstrations, galloping inflation, and extreme shortages of basic products (NotiSur, Aug. 25, 2017).

With the ruling Partido Socialista Unido (PSUV) fortified and the opposition Mesa de la Unidad Democratica (MUD) defeated and dismembered, few doubt that the country's embattled president, Nicolas Maduro, can be reelected for the 2019-2025 period.

MUD suffered three consecutive electoral defeats between August and December (NotiSur, Nov. 10, 2017)--in the first, it didn't present any candidates, and in the next two, its member parties reacted with conflicting attitudes. Still, MUD leaders agreed to participate in a bipartite dialogue with the presence of international observers in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. A third round of talks, scheduled for this week, could be decisive. If the government takes advantage of an opening and calls for an election, the opposition has promised its followers it will look for a consensus candidate able to represent the 20 parties in the coalition.

On Dec. 12, two days after losing practically all the municipal governments it had held for the past six years, the largest opposition party, Primero Justicia (PJ), said the opposition should present a single candidate for the presidency, chosen through internal elections (NotiSur, Nov. 10, 2017). That day, Congressman Luis Florido updated an idea that former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles had put forth on Oct 29. Internal divisions made it impossible to hold a dialogue, however, until MUD released a 2,300-word document on Dec. 31 about its work during the past year. In a markedly self-effacing tone, the leadership said, "We're making a serious promise," and timidly indicated it would seek a common candidate to take on the ruling party.

The right-wing alliance did not explain exactly how it would select Maduro's eventual rival, saying only that it would continue "to explore negotiation paths" with "the dictatorship," which is how it refers to the PSUV government.

So le opposition candidate difficult to find

Maru Morales, a dissident journalist, said that the search for a single candidate wouldn't be an easy task. "There's an abundance of pre-candidates," she wrote, mentioning Capriles, even though he's been banned from holding political office for 15 years; Henry Ramos Allup, a former...

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