By: Staff Writer
July 5, 2024
This is the ripest time for the opposition in Venezuela to finally unseat the growingly unpopular Nicholas Maduro at the country’s presidential election set for July 28.
Edmundo González Urrutia, a former Ambassador to Argentina and independent candidate for president, is sweeping through the nation as his message takes root with the Venezuelan people.
González – a bird-loving granddad who friends describe as a good-natured moderate without any personal political ambitions – agreed to become the opposition’s stand-in presidential candidate only in April after leading opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado, was found ineligible by the courts to run for president and her first-choice substitute, an academic called Corina Yoris, was also prevented from challenging Maduro, who is seeking a third six-year term.
Maduro, now in his eleventh year and who has presided over an economic collapse that has seen millions of people emigrate, along with his United Socialist Party of Venezuela have fended off challenges by barring rivals from elections and painting them as out-of-touch elitists in league with foreign powers.
Maduro also wants to restart dialogue with the Biden administration in efforts to lift the crippling sanctions against Venezuela as a result of his cabinet.
“I have received the proposal during two continuous months from the United States government to reestablish talks and direct dialogue,” Maduro said. “After thinking about it for two months, I have accepted, and next Wednesday, talks will restart with the United States government to comply with the agreements signed in Qatar and to reestablish the terms of the urgent dialogue.”
Maduro’s government had held parallel talks with the Biden administration and with the U.S.-backed Unitary Platform opposition coalition. But they were suspended as he reneged on promises, including to improve conditions ahead of the election, and his government accused the U.S. of not fulfilling portions of agreements.
Meanwhile, the United Nations’ chief human rights official warns that Venezuela’s upcoming presidential elections are unlikely to be free and fair because widespread repression in the country prevents dissident voices from being heard.
In his latest update on the human rights situation in Venezuela, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk presents a starkly critical assessment of an autocratic government that stifles dissent by the arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of its perceived opponents.
“My office continues to receive reports of detentions as election day approaches, including of supporters and members of the opposition. This does not augur well, and I urge a change to such practices,” said the U.N. human rights chief, who engaged in an interactive dialogue at the U.N. Human Rights Council Wednesday and Thursday.