Venezuela: Machado continues in the presidential race and accuses Maduro of violating agreements

The Venezuelan opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado on Monday he accused the president Nicolas Maduro of violating the Barbados agreements that established the electoral roadmap between the delegations of the venezuelan government and the opposition and affirmed that he is still in the race despite the fact that the Supreme Court ratified his disqualification from holding public office.

“Whether Maduro wants it or not, he will have to measure himself against me”Machado said in a press conference. The Supreme Court of Justice, controlled by the government, confirmed on Friday the disqualification of the former legislator from holding elected positions imposed on her by the General Comptroller’s Office, also in the hands of the ruling party.

In Venezuela, political disqualification is an accessory penalty that is applied when there is a final judicial ruling for a punishable act committed by a person and it is determined that, in addition, he or she incurred abuse of power or position, among other cases provided for in local laws. .

The Supreme Court and other state agencies have made similar decisions for years against several of the ruling party’s most popular rivals. Several opposition parties have also been declared illegal.

Machado, 56, won the opposition presidential primaries in October with more than 90% of the votes. His victory came despite the government announcing his disqualification just days after he formally entered the race.

“Maduro will not choose the candidate” of the opposition for the presidential elections scheduled for the second half of 2024, said Machado, who does not recognize the disqualification and has continued to campaign arguing that he never received official notification of the ban.

“The people have already chosen their candidate,” stated the former legislator. “They broke their word, they have invented documents and issued a decision that cannot be called a ruling. This is called judicial delinquency.”

Machado, who does not recognize his disqualification and hopes that it will eventually be reversed, was able to participate in the primary elections because they were organized by an independent commission, not by the Venezuelan electoral authorities.

Gerardo Blyde, head of the opposition delegation that participated in the Barbados talks in October, demanded the reversal of the decision over the weekend and denounced the violation of the agreement reached with the government to hold competitive elections.

Machado also thanked the support of the international community, led by the United States and the European Union. He added that yes “There is negotiation because everyone knows that in Venezuela there is no rule of law. The answer is not in the courts, it is in a negotiation and that negotiation is achieved with a balance of forces.”

The US State Department noted on Saturday that Machado’s disqualification “it is incongruous” with the Maduro government’s commitment to holding free and fair presidential elections. Washington stressed that it is “reviewing” the policy of sanctions against Venezuela as a consequence of the court ruling and recent actions against critics of the government, including members of Machado’s campaign team, human rights activists and journalists.

Although the limited and temporary relaxation of the sanctions applied by Washington to encourage negotiation would be at risk, the head of the official delegation, Jorge Rodríguez, denied the possibility of reversing the ruling.

“We are going to make a new attempt to sustain the Barbados Agreement despite the attempts of those who want to go outside the constitutional channel”Rodríguez said on Monday in reference to the alleged conspiracies against the government frustrated between May of last year and the first days of 2024. He insisted that the Maduro government has complied with the mechanism established within the framework of the Barbados Agreement.