Ebullient Venezuelans on Sunday chose the candidate they think can end the decade-long, crisis-ridden presidency of Nicolas Maduro, lining up under a scorching sun and torrential rain to cast ballots in a primary election that the opposition independently organized despite government repression.
Opposition presidential hopeful Maria Corina Machado, center right, and opposition leader Freddy Superlano, center left, raise their arms for photographers during a campaign event in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023.
While the administration agreed in principle to let the opposition choose its candidate for the 2024 presidential election, it also has already barred the primary’s front-runner, María Corina Machado, from running for office. Maduro’s government has in the past bent the law, retaliated against opponents and breached agreements as it sees fit.
Venezuelans typically vote at public schools. But the independent commission that oversaw the primary opted to use homes, churches, private schools and other facilities as voting stations after the country’s electoral authorities did not respond to requests for help in a timely manner. Machado, a former lawmaker who supports free-market policies, is a longtime critic of the governing United Socialist Party of Venezuela. She maintained a somewhat low profile for years but dominated the primary campaign by connecting with the same voters she consistently urged to boycott previous elections.
Maduro’s allies have ridiculed and dismissed the primary all year. Still, both the government and its opponents have used the contest as a bargaining chip to extract concessions from each other as part of a negotiation process meant to end the country’s complex social, economic and political crisis.
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