Venezuela’s opposition leader speaks up against court ruled candidacy ban

María Corina Machado, the presidential candidate and Venezuela’s opposition leader, has denounced a court ruling issued against her, blocking her candidacy for the coming presidential elections.

Machado has assured her supporters and the nation that she will stand against Nicholas Maduro in the presidential elections, while calling the ruling against her “judicial criminality” and a violation of her right to contest in the elections.

In her opinion, the move is a clear sign of the nervousness and apprehension that the incumbent government feels at the prospect of facing her in the elections.

During an event where she was among a large group of her supporters, joined by other opposition leaders, in the presence of the media, she stated that she was expecting the obstacles in her path to increase as the incumbent government becomes increasingly desperate in the coming days.

Machado added that her team continues to organize the resources necessary for her to stand against Maduro, yet refrained from explaining the steps she is planning to take to ensure that her candidacy is accepted.

Machado is a respected lawmaker who made her way to politics and won the US-backed opposition faction a presidential primary election in October. Naturally, on the back of that victory, her star has been on the rise in Venezuela, especially considering the fact that she received 90% of the votes in the primaries.

This development came about despite the Maduro government’s decision to ban her from running for office for a period of 15 years, just days after her candidacy was announced.

Thankfully for Machado, the presidential primary elections were conducted by an authority that is independent of Venezuela’s electoral authority. This enabled her to take part in the elections and plant seeds of doubt in the minds of the Maduro camp.

Subsequently, Machado asserted that the voters are the only ones who have the right to approve or disapprove of her candidacy, as opposed to loyalists of the ruling party. She also stated with the utmost confidence that she had received no official notification of the ban placed on her throughout her campaign.

The ban is based on unfounded allegations that Machado has committed fraud and violated Venezuela’s tax laws. She has also been accused of actively seeking the sanctions that were placed on Venezuela by the United States over many years in the recent past.

The court ruling comes roughly 3 months after the opposition, backed by the United States and the Nicholas Maduro led government, came to an agreement to facilitate fair elections.

Under the agreement’s remit, banned presidential candidates can appeal the ruling, and international electoral observers will ensure that the subsequent elections are fair.

It has also been decided by both sides that the presidential elections will be held in the latter half of 2024.

The court ruling against Machado’s candidacy has been condemned by President Biden, the Organisation of American States, as well as 30 other political leaders from Latin America and Spain.

It must be noted though, that a date has not yet been confirmed for the elections.

US representatives have stated that as a result of this ruling, the nation has made the decision to reassess its policy on sanctioning Venezuela, after having pulled back said sanctions, only a short while back.

If the United States reinstates sanctions on Venezuela, it could place the nation in limbo once again, stalling the economic and social benefits of the massive oil and gas reserves that the nation possesses and is attempting to make use of currently.