Venezuela: Opposition Machado receives judicial attack in her presidential aspiration

The Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado He received a blow on Friday in his aspiration to the Presidency, after the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) ratified a sanction that prevents him from competing in elections until 2036.

The former liberal deputy condemned the sentence, considering that it goes against what was agreed between the Executive and the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), the main opposition coalition, last October, when they agreed in Barbados to establish guarantees, in view of the planned presidential elections. for the second half of this year.

“The regime decided to end the Barbados agreement“, expressed in X the 56-year-old politician, who – she assured – will remain in the “struggle“for an election”free and clean”, although without offering details for the moment of his next step.

Sentencing day

Through its website, the Supreme Court reported the authorization of five opponents who do not enjoy popularity in the middle of an election year: former governor Pablo Pérez, former mayors Daniel Ceballos and Rosa de Scarano, former deputy Richard Mardo and journalist Leocenis García.

On the other hand, the Political-Administrative Chamber of the TSJ ratified the administrative measures – both lasting 15 years – against the two-time presidential candidate. Henrique Capriles and Machado, who on October 22 swept a primary organized by the PUD with 92.35% of the votes.

While Capriles -one of the highest-rated anti-Chavista politicians, according to surveys- was punished for alleged “administrative irregularities” detected during his period as governor, Machado is prevented from competing in elections for having “been a participant in the orchestrated corruption plot” by the former head of Parliament Juán Guaidó.

The rulings ordering the lifting of disqualifications say that these measures were achieved within the framework of the Barbados agreements, while in the cases of Machado and Capriles ensure that your requests “they do not comply with the requirements” in this negotiation process.

In addition, the TSJ clarified that the sanction against Machado, which was known in June 2023, began to count in September 2021, after an investigation that began in 2014 and whose opinion was made public this Friday.

The former deputy had already been sanctioned in 2015 for a period of one year, which expired in 2016, so, according to official information, she remained authorized for five years, until, in 2021, she received a new sanction, despite the fact that She insists that this decision of the Comptroller’s Office was not communicated to her at any time.

Likewise, in the case of Capriles, the Court indicated that the file will be sent to the Prosecutor’s Office “in order to determine the criminal sanctions that may apply” due to “serious irregularities” for which it is pointed out.

The government reaction

The Government’s reaction came from the head of the official delegation in the negotiation with the opposition, Jorge Rodríguez, who assured that, with the sentences issued by the high court, the agreements signed in Barbados had been fulfilled.

“Despite the serious threats from far-right sectors against the peace of the republic, the mechanism established within the framework of the Barbados agreements has been complied with.“, expressed the also president of the National Assembly (AN/Parliament) in his account on X.

The parliamentarian, who yesterday announced that there was no way Machado would compete in the presidential elections, reiterated today that there will be elections in Venezuela this year, “rain, shine or lightning”, as well as with or without agreements.

Rodríguez also suggested on Thursday that the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, will be Chavismo’s candidate in the elections of the second semester – still without a defined date -, in which he will seek a third six-year term in power.

The president, who in recent days has accused the opposition of alleged conspiratorial plans that included his murder, opted for silence this Friday and limited himself to sharing Rodríguez’s publication on X, waiting for him to issue his comments on the day in the next few hours.