Venezuela opposition urges reinstatement of presidential hopeful

With trepidation surrounding this year’s still-unscheduled referendum, Venezuela’s political opposition sought on Saturday that the Supreme Court restore one of its leaders’ right to vote.

The court, which supports President Nicolas Maduro, declared on Friday that Maria Corina Machado is unable to serve as a stand-in for the opposition for a term of 15 years and that Henrique Capriles, a two-time presidential candidate, is not eligible to serve in that capacity.

At a press conference, Gerardo Blyde, the leader of the opposition team engaged in negotiations with the administration, said that there were several anomalies in the process against Machado.

There was a “violation of the due process and violation of the right to defense,” Blyde said.

Machado’s disqualification comes after an agreement made in Barbados last year between Maduro’s administration and the opposition to organise a free and fair election in 2024 with the presence of foreign monitors.

As a result of the accord, US sanctions on Venezuela were also loosened, opening the door for a prisoner swap and for US-based Chevron to resume limited oil extraction.

Machado’s exclusion was referred to by Blyde as “a violation of the agreement.”

In a primary held in October of last year, Machado garnered a landslide victory.

However, officials barred her from government because they said she was corrupt and supported sanctions on Caracas.

In reaction to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday, Washington issued a warning on Saturday that it would reimpose sanctions on Venezuela; Hector Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the Venezuelan administration, denounced this move.

Sanctions “are not the answer, the answer is dialogue,” he said.

Neighboring South American countries also criticized Machado’s disqualification Saturday, with the Uruguayan foreign ministry saying it was “contrary to the Barbados Agreement.”

Ecuador’s foreign ministry said it “rejects” the Supreme Court ruling, while Argentina said its government was following “the political situation in Venezuela with concern” and “regrets” the court decision.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said Machado would remain disqualified “for being involved… in the corruption plot orchestrated” by opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Guaido, now in exile, was recognized for a time by dozens of countries as the legitimate president of Venezuela after a 2018 election that saw Maduro inaugurated for a second successive term despite widespread fraud claims.

Maduro has not confirmed that he will seek a third term, but is widely expected to do so.

Earlier this week, Maduro said the Barbados agreement was “mortally wounded” after government authorities claimed to have foiled numerous plots to assassinate him.

Blyde also denounced what he called violations of the agreement, with political parties and civil society groups having “been attacked” in recent weeks — citing the recent vandalization of Machado’s party headquarters and the arrest of three of her team members.